Meteor Rocks
by TDWidow
Summary: The kidnapping of Cho Chang sparks a chain of events that reveals Dumbledore's betrayal, the lost heir of a great sorceress, Cho's hidden family and a creature with the power to grant Bellatrix Lestrange immortality. Postwar AU, Smallville xover. Complete
1. Prologue

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** This is my newest story! I've been working on it for the better part of a year. There isn't much to say yet, except that this will eventually be a crossover fic. It takes place in 2002, so definitely after the final war with Voldemort.

The prologue might not make sense yet, but it will eventually, don't worry. I hope you enjoy!

Special thanks goes out to Lauren, my faithful beta.

**DISCLAIMER** I don't own them, although I did make up the idea of Liza. You'll understand later.

**Prologue – September, 1986**

A young girl ran through her house, giggling. "Daddy, you can't catch me!" Iridescent fairy wings glittered as they bounced against her back.

Her father chased her through the kitchen indulgently. "I'm gonna get you!" he growled playfully. She shrieked with delight when he finally caught her in the living room and swept her high in the air.

"She'll never go to sleep at this rate," came an amused voice.

"Yes I will, Mommy!" the child piped up. "I don't go to sleep, then tomorrow won't come!"

Her father set her down and winked at his wife. He turned back to his daughter with a confused expression. "Is tomorrow special or something?"

"Daddy!"

He threw his hands up in the air. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he cried when he saw the look on her face. "Of course I know what tomorrow is, sweetheart."

Her face had grown very serious. "Soon we can't do this anymore," she informed them.

Her father sat on the couch and pulled her into his lap. "What do you mean, sweetie?"

She eyed her mother sitting next to them. "When the baby comes, then I'll have to be the big sister." She toyed with her plastic wings. "We can't play like this anymore."

"Oh honey, of course we can!" her mother said. She edged closer to them on the couch. "And you are going to be the best big sister in the whole world!" She held her arms out and the girl hugged her mother as best she could.

Frowning, the little girl eyed her mother's swollen stomach. "When will your belly be normal again?" she asked with a pout. "I can't hug you right anymore."

Her parents laughed. Over her head, they shared a tender look and the man pulled his daughter back to his lap. "When the baby's born, your mommy will be hug size again."

She grinned. "Good."

Her mother took that opportunity to take the little girl's wand and tap her on the forehead. Her eyes lit up. "Do I get to make a wish?" she cried happily.

"Absolutely. A special early birthday wish."

With her eyes squeezed shut and her face screwed up in concentration, she looked so comical that her parents had to suppress affectionate laughter. Six-year-olds did not understand the concept of laughing with someone.

Finally she opened her eyes and pronounced, "There! Want to know what I wished for?"

"Oh no!" her father said. "You can't tell anyone or it won't come true!"

The little girl clamped her hand over her mouth immediately. She nodded, wide-eyed.

"Okay," her father said. "I think it's time for all little fairy girls to go to bed."

She pouted. "Daddy, do I have to?"

Her mother stood up slowly to accommodate her body shaped by advanced pregnancy. "Just remember, the sooner you go to bed, the sooner tomorrow will come."

"Ooh, yay!" she squealed before she ran up the stairs.

Her parents followed, chuckling out of amusement and love for their young daughter. Once the wings had come off and the wand was put away, the almost seven-year-old was in bed.

"Goodnight, sweetheart," her mother said as she turned off the light.

But the little girl sat up in bed. "Mommy, come here!" she whispered, beckoning. Her mother returned and sat on the edge of her bed. "I wished for a little sister!" she whispered excitedly in her mother's ear. "Do you think it will come true?"

She kissed her daughter's forehead. "I think it could. Now go to sleep."

The child nodded and snuggled under her blankets. Her mother watched her from the doorway for a moment before joining her husband and falling asleep herself.

"_Imperio_."

The pregnant woman bolted up in bed, awoken by a low, smooth voice. Urgently, she shook her husband's shoulder. "Lewis!" she hissed. "Wake up!"

"Huh?" he asked sleepily.

"There's someone in the house!"

He sat up immediately. "Are you sure?"

She nodded in fear. "I heard a man's voice!"

He disappeared into the closet and reappeared a moment later with a shotgun in his hand. "Stay here," he commanded. She sat in bed, gripping the blankets, and nodded.

Lewis kept one finger on the trigger as he crept cautiously down the upstairs corridor. "Hello?" he called. "Whoever you are, I know you're there and I'm armed!"

There was a small sound, barely more than a whisper, but enough to catch Lewis's attention. He swung the gun around in the direction of the noice. "Oh God," he whispered. Chills raced through his body as he ran into his daughter's room.

"Liza! Liza!" he cried. The shotgun clattered to the floor as he ran to the bed that stood empty in the moonlight. The curtains fluttered in a light breeze that wafted in from the open window.

All of a sudden, his wife as at the door. "No!" she screamed and fell to her knees. Lewis ran to her side and held her as she wept. "Find her, Lewis!" she sobbed. "Find my baby! Bring her back home!"

Lewis didn't say anything. He could only stare at Liza's bed, empty with a stray fairy wing caught on the corner.


	2. Chapter One

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** There is a character in this chapter, who shows up also in a few later chapters, named Michelle. She's George Weasley's girlfriend and an original character that I made up for my story "Red and White." The events of Red and White have nothing to do with this story, but if you'd like to go read it, you're welcome to, lol. It was only the second or third story I ever wrote, so it's not wonderful, but you can read it if you wish.

Thanks to Lauren, as always.

**DISCLAIMER** I made up Michelle, but other than that, all characters belong to JK Rowling. And later characters belong to others.

**September 2002**

It was a sunny day in London, England. A young twenty-something sauntered happily down the street, a light breeze rippling through her long black hair and deep blue cloak.

Her kind normally shied away from wearing such garments in public, but this particular woman had lived among Londoners for quite awhile. She'd discovered that when the weather turned cooler, fewer people gave her rather odd attire suspicious looks. It was now mid-September and the bite in the air gave her leave to wear her more traditional clothing.

She turned down a small dusty side street bearing a faded sign that heralded it as Grimmauld Place. Ancient proud Victorian mansions rose on both sides of her. There, nestled between numbers 11 and 13, appeared a rickety door marked with a 12. It was on the wrong side of the street, but no one seemed to notice. She knocked on the door three times.

The light behind a small peephole flickered for a moment before the door was opened by a tall man with long red hair pulled back in a ponytail and an earring in one ear. His handsome face was marred by a tangle of scars and looked as though he'd been attacked by a ferocious animal. "Cho!" he said warmly.

Cho Chang smiled. "Hello Bill," she greeted him as she entered the house and pulled the door closed firmly behind her. "How have you been?"

"Not bad, not bad," Bill replied.

"Glad to hear it. And where's your lovely wife?"

Bill grinned. "She's with Mum down in the kitchen. They're discussing top secret pudding recipes."

She smirked. "And they say cooking is a lost art."

"Not with my mother." Bill led her down the hallway. "Come on, the others that are here are in the sitting room."

12 Grimmauld Place was a very different house than it had been when the Order of the Phoenix had moved their headquarters in several years earlier. The many rooms were spotless and felt homey, the heads of the Black family's former house elves had been removed from the walls and disposed of, and an entire room had been dedicated to members of the Order that had been lost.

Bill and Cho paused at the door to this room and glanced sadly at the photographs lining the wall. Lily and James Potter were near the top, as well as Frank and Alice Longbottom, who had finally died after years of living in St. Mungo's. Sirius Black adorned the wall of his old home, as did Mad Eye Moody, Arabella Figg, Hannah Abbott, and Professor Albus Dumbledore himself. Others joined them in a lasting memorial and fond reminder for the ones left standing.

"Cho!"

A voice from down the hall drew their attention. "Gabrielle!" Cho said smiling and crossing to Gabrielle Delacour. They kissed each other's cheeks. "It's so nice to see you! Where is your fiancé?"

"Oh, he's around here somewhere," Gabrielle replied in her light French accent. "How have you been? I have not seen you at a meeting in quite some time."

"Yes, I've been traveling," Cho explained as Gabrielle linked arms with her and led her toward the sitting room. "Just around Europe, nothing big."

"Still, it must have been exciting."

Cho was met by a chorus of hellos when she entered the sitting room. Bill's brothers Charlie, Fred, George, and Ron were there, as well as Dean Thomas and Hermione Granger. Ginny, the only Weasley daughter, was still in Italy on a diplomatic mission. The other brother, Percy, had died in the war against Voldemort, but no one ever mentioned him because no one ever figured out which side he died fighting for. Nymphadora Tonks was seated lazily by the fire, deep in conversation with Kingsley Shackbolt. Still absent from the impending meeting were Molly Weasley and her daughter-in-law Fleur, presumable still discussing baking in the basement, Molly's husband Arthur, Ernie MacMillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley and his girlfriend Susan Bones, Remus Lupin, and Gabrielle's fiancé Harry Potter.

The Order of the Phoenix was actually two organizations working as one. During the War on Voldemort, the group of Hogwarts students known as Dumbledore's Army joined the Order to strengthen all fronts. When Dumbledore was murdered in cold blood in the Astronomy Tower of his own school, the team kept the name as a battle cry to immortalize their beloved Headmaster. Remus Lupin was named head of the Order.

Harry came in then and, after stopping to kiss Gabrielle, greeted Cho. "Nice to have you back," he said. The young crushes that he and Cho had harbored on each other while in school had long since matured into a strong, completely platonic friendship.

"It's nice to be back," Cho replied. "It feels like a lifetime since I've been in London." Her eyes lit up again when she saw someone over Harry's shoulder. "Professor Lupin!"

The older man laughed. "It's been years, Cho. Please call me Remus."

She laughed as well. "Old habits, you know."

Remus chuckled. "Well, it's nice to see you back at any rate."

"Thanks."

It wasn't long before the other members arrived and Remus called the meeting to order. "I'm sorry my friends, but we have a matter of urgency to discuss today. First, I'd like to hear the report from Hogwarts."

A young woman who Cho recognized as George Weasley's girlfriend stood. "Nothing out of the ordinary, Remus. Whatever's going on, the Slytherins don't seem to know anything. I don't sense any secrecy."

He nodded. "Thank you, Michelle. Unfortunately, my news is much grimmer. I have received word that several former Death Eaters have been gathering. We know that one person seems to be calling the shots, but not who that seems to be."

"Remus, Death Eaters have been gathering all the time since Voldemort's defeat," Harry pointed out. "But it always turns out to be some crackpot plot to resurrect him. Again."

"Yeah, what makes this time any different?" Ernie asked.

"Because this time, our spy has been killed," Remus said calmly.

He was met with stunned silence. It was Michelle who finally spoke. "Blaise is dead?" she asked.

Sadly, Remus nodded. "Last night he came to me to tell me that his Mark was burning." A gasp of surprise rippled through the Order. No one's Mark had ever burned since Voldemort's death. "Early this morning I received a rather grisly package containing the remains of his forearm bearing the Mark." He paused and took a deep breath. "It has changed."

The Order looked around nervously. "What do you mean, changed?" Charlie Weasley asked.

"I mean that it no longer is a skull and snake," Remus explained.

"Well, what is it?" Ernie asked.

Hermione cut off Remus's answer. "How could the Mark be different? It was given to each Death Eater by Voldemore himself." Several Order members flinched. She ignored them. "The Death Eaters couldn't alter them, could they?"

Remus shook his gray-streaked head. "No. He controlled the Mark. Now apparently someone else has assumed that control."

"Would have to be someone pretty powerful," Bill commented.

"Which explains the worrying," Tonks said with a wry smile.

"Right now we don't know enough to do anything," Remus said firmly. "We have to find whatever information we can. Unfortunately, our best source is gone."

Everyone in the room was silent for a moment. After Severus Snape's betrayal and subsequent murder, the Order was left without a double agent. Blaise Zabini had stepped up bravely to the task. He was always the quiet Slytherin boy, according to George's girlfriend Michelle, who had also been a Slytherin. The Order and Dumbledore's Army would miss him greatly.

"Michelle," Remus finally said. "Keep alert at the school. If you can, maybe see if the new Head of Slytherin House knows anything."

"I'll try," Michelle replied. "None of them seem to have much respect for Charms, but I'll do my best."

Remus nodded. "Good. Cho, did you hear of anything suspicious while you were abroad?"

She shook her head. "But, then again, I wasn't looking for it either."

"Well keep in contact with anyone you might have met?"

"Of course."

He turned to Bill. "Bill, maybe the goblins know of something we don't."

"On it," Bill said.

"Everyone else, just stay alert. Watch Muggle news too if you can. Sometimes they report on more than they know." He smiled sadly. "Constant vigilance."

Cho saw Harry return the sad look. Remus dismissed the meeting and began the systematic exiting of the house. Not everyone could leave at once because no one wanted the old Muggle at 8 Grimmauld Place for example to be looking out the window and see an entire crowd appear in front of a door he couldn't see.

As much as Cho would have liked to stay and talk with old friends whom she hadn't seen in a while, her supremely disorganized apartment screamed to be cleaned. Reluctantly, she bid farewell to Harry, Gabrielle, Bill, and all of the others and slipped out the front door back onto Grimmauld Place.

Taking advantage of the beautiful September afternoon, Cho walked leisurely toward the center of London where she could get to Diagon Alley and from there, apparate home. She made it halfway through the city when she heard a voice behind her.

"Look what I found. A little Orderling."

"What?" Cho spun around and found herself face-to-face with a wand.

"_Stupefy_!"

The beam of red light hit her square in the chest and Cho crumpled to the ground in darkness.


	3. Chapter Two

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** This chapter begins the crossover! The only note I have is the phrase "little witchling" is borrowed from _Passions_ – it's what Tabitha calls her daughter Endora.

**DISCLAIMER** Don't own any of them.

Slowly, consciousness found her again. Cho blinked her eyes to clear the blurry images around her and realized that she was in a crudely furnished bedroom. She also realized that she was chained to the bedpost and that her wand was lying on the beside table, just out of her reach. She sniffed. Chains. How primitive.

She had never tried wandless magic before, but figured now was as good a time as any to start. Reaching out as far as her chains allowed, Cho focused all of her energy and said, "_Accio_ wand!"

Nothing happened. She sighed in frustration and tried again. "_Accio_ wand!"

It rocked a little, but was suddenly engulfed in bluish light and lay still. Cho flopped back onto the bed. She recognized the spell as an Imprisoning Charm and knew that even if she could summon it, it wouldn't move.

The room was almost completely bare. Besides the bed and table, a lone chamber pot sat in the corner. Cho scoffed. Her kidnappers were so considerate.

There were no windows and only one door. A dingy, bare bulb on the ceiling was her only light source. She sighed. This was not going to be a pleasant experience.

She had no idea how long it had been since she'd been stunned and imprisoned. She waited for what seemed like hours before the door creaked open. "_Alohamora_," a gruff voice said. The chains binding Cho's wrists released her and she rubbed them irritably as she glared at the hooded Death Eater in her doorway.

Peering intently into the shadows of the hood, Cho smirked. She'd recognize that troll-like face anywhere. "Marcus Flint, how are you?" she asked sarcastically.

"Get up," he grunted, brandishing his wand threateningly.

She cocked her head. "What, no pleasantries? Is that how you greet a girl you tried to behead on the Quidditch Pitch multiple times?"

He glared at her and shook his wand. "She wants to see you," he said.

"Who, Mrs. Voldemort? No thanks."

In an instant, Flint's wand was inches from her face. Cho immediately regretted her attitude as sarcasm was replaced by fear. "Never speak our Lord's name," Flint hissed menacingly. "Now move."

She got up from the bed and walked slowly down the small hallway. Flint kept his wand digging into her back. They ended in what appeared to have once been a sitting room. The curtains were drawn, but Cho could see no daylight coming through the cracks. So it was night then.

A voice caught Cho's attention from the head of the room. "Hello there, little witchling."

Cho paled when she saw a raven-haired woman perched on a throne-like chair in front of a roaring fire. A huge snake lay coiled in her lap, hissing as she stroked its head like a dog. "I believe you remember Narini," she added and the snake lifted its head at its name. "A gift from my late master. Unfortunately, her mother Nagini was a tragic victim of Dumbledore's sad little Order."

"Bellatrix Lestrange," Cho said, shocked. "We thought you were – "

"Dead?" Bellatrix supplied and laughed. "Yes, one of my master's more ingenious plots. He knew the war was drawing to an end and needed to secure a worthy successor. I proved my loyalty time and time again and with my husband dead, I was a logical choice. My Lord placed me in a deathlike trance that would break automatically were he to be killed." She grinned coldly. "But I digress. Welcome to our little home. Do you like it?"

"You're the one who changed the Dark Mark," Cho said.

"Well of course," she replied. "My master was a great sorcerer, but I felt that a little personalization was in order. I am in control of things now, after all."

Cho felt sick to her stomach. "So you're the one all the Death Eaters are following now." Glancing around the room, her eyes lit upon a man with familiar white-blonde hair. She smirked. "I see you're taking orders from a woman now, Draco. What would your father say?"

Draco scowled and reached for his wand, but Bellatrix stopped him. "Come Draco, play nice. Miss Chang here is our guest. We don't want to hurt her."

Cho narrowed her eyes. "What exactly _do_ you want?" she asked.

"We wanted to bring you home, dearie!" Her evil smile widened. "Don't you recognize it?"

Detecting a trick, Cho glared back defiantly. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Bellatrix sighed. "Oh dear, that's right. I'd quite forgotten. Meddling fool, that Dumbledore."

Cho bristled. "I don't care what you're talking about, but leave Dumbledore out of this!"

"As you wish, little Orderling. We'll speak again soon." With a wave of Bellatrix's hand, Flint turned Cho around and marched her back to the bedroom.

The chains were gone, but so was her wand. The click of a door lock made Cho's heart sink and she sat back on the hard bed, trying to absorb everything. Bellatrix Lestrange was alive and assuming control of the Death Eaters. No one had probably even noticed that Cho was missing yet.

There was something new on the bedside – a book. At first she was curious, but that waned as soon as she recognized Gadding With Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart. She pushed it aside and tried to find a comfortable position. It must have been Bellatrix's idea of a joke.

Darkness closed in around her as the light suddenly went out. She sighed. She'd been sleeping for who knows how long and wasn't anywhere near tired. Instead, she was left on her own in the dark.

…

Several hooded and cloaked Death Eaters apparated into the living room with a loud crack. They joined Draco Malfoy, Marcus Flint, and a handful of others already assembled before Bellatrix. "You summoned us, my Lady," they said in unison.

She smiled her uniquely insane smile, clearly enjoying the blind devotion. "Things are going according to plan," she announced.

"My Lady," Montague spoke up softly. "Forgive my lack of intelligence, but why are we keeping the girl? Holding her here could bring the rest of them."

She shook her head dismissively. "Our little friend will not be staying with us for long."

A guarded look of confusion passed between the Death Eaters. "I don't understand, my Lady," said Millicent Bullstrode.

Bellatrix was quiet for a moment. "I was one of our Dark Lord's most loyal followers. He welcomed me into his inner council and privileged me with the wealth of knowledge he possessed. Lord Voldemort – " Several of the Death Eaters bowed their heads in deference to their fallen leader. She continued, "He was very close to learning the secret he lusted after so strongly."

"Immortality?"

Grinning, Bellatrix nodded. "Very good, Draco. Unfortunately, he had not the time to find out for sure."

"What does that have to do with the girl?" Goyle asked numbly.

Bellatrix cast her eyes to the ceiling momentarily venting her frustrations with her slow-witted follower. When she looked back, she ignored Goyle's question. "Our Lord uncovered a legend of a creature called Kal-El. This being's blood is much like that of a unicorn, but without the harsher consequences."

Interest piqued within the ranks. "What else is there to the legend?" Draco asked eagerly.

"Kal-El is from a planet once known as Krypton. The planet exploded, but not before his parents sent him off in a spaceship as a baby. He landed here on Earth in a meteor shower and now he walks around like one of us." Bellatrix grinned serenely. "The girl is going to lead us to him."

Narini hissed with pleasure as Bellatrix stroked her head. "With the blood of Kal-El, I will be more powerful than anyone can imagine." Bellatrix's voice was soft, as though she was talking to herself. "No one will be able to stop me. I can have revenge on that miserable little boy who defeated our master." As if snapping out of a trance, she looked back to her followers. "We cannot risk exposure to Harry Potter's pitiful band until after Kal-El is within my power. Don't worry about the girl. When we're through with her, she will have no interest in returning to Dumbledore's pathetic Order."

…

Harry stumbled down into the kitchen. Gabrielle hid a smile. "Good morning, darling," she said.

"Morning." He stooped to give her a kiss and sat at the table. "Breakfast?"

With a flick of her wand, Gabrielle conjured eggs and sausage on his plate. Harry smiled gratefully. "Thanks," he said before digging in. Gabrielle watched with an amused smile. When he finally put his fork down, Harry looked around. "Where's Dobby?" he asked.

Gabrielle smiled. "Buying socks."

"Oh yeah," Harry said with a grin. "Yesterday was payday, wasn't it?"

She nodded. "He should be back soon. He can only carry so many pairs."

Harry finished eating and flicked his wand to clean the dishes and counter. Kissing Gabrielle, he said thanks and headed for the living room. "Hedwig out hunting?" he asked.

"Oh no, I borrowed her earlier. I hope you don't mind." Gabrielle perched herself on the couch. "She should be back soon."

"She can use the exercise," Harry replied with a smirk. "She's been getting lazy."

Gabrielle looked at him teasingly. "Only because you spoil her."

Harry just grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "Where'd you send her to anyway?"

Smiling secretively, she replied, "Just on a couple social errands. Nothing strenuous, I promise."

"You know how I am," Harry said. "She's getting old!"

Gabrielle slid over on the couch and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck. "I'm just teasing," she whispered and nibbled affectionately on his earlobe.

"Mmm." Harry pulled her into his lap. "How long did you say Dobby would be gone for?" he asked as he nuzzled her neck.

"Don't know for sure," she murmured. "But knowing Dobby, he'll come back at the most inopportune moment."

Harry sighed and leaned back against the couch. "Good point. Maybe we can lock him out?" he suggested playfully.

Gabrielle laughed. "He'd be so hurt." A tap on the window got her attention. "Besides, Hedwig's back."

With a sigh, Harry let her go to the window. He stroked Hedwig's head affectionately after Gabrielle had untied a role of parchment from her leg. But suddenly Harry's fiancé looked at him with fear in her eyes. He stood up. "Gabby? What is it?"

"Contact Remus," was all she said. "Now!"

…

Remus, Harry, and Gabrielle stood somberly in Harry's living room. Remus held the letter in his hand. "What are the possibilities?" Gabrielle asked quietly. "She's getting old; maybe she just got lost."

"Hedwig has never gotten lost," Harry said firmly. "Ever."

"Owls don't get lost," Remus added. "They can deliver a letter anywhere."

Gabrielle's lip trembled and tears sparkled in her eyes as she looked down at the letter in Remus's hand addressed to Cho Chang. "Do you think she's dead?" she asked quietly.

It was what all three of them feared. But Remus shook his head firmly. "Let's not jump to conclusions. We have ways of keeping track of members of the Order." He sighed heavily. "I'll look into it. Has anyone seen Cho since the last meeting?"

"I don't know," Harry said dully. "I haven't."

"Me neither," Gabrielle said.

Remus sighed again. "I'll get on it right away. If either of you would like to join me at Grimmauld Place, please do, but if Hedwig doesn't mind, I'd like you to send the letter again, just in case."

Harry crossed to where Hedwig rested on a bookshelf. "What do you say?" he asked her. "Will you look for Cho again?"

Hedwig tossed her head, clearly offended that they questioned her ability to deliver letters, but nibbled Harry's fingertip affectionately. He stroked her head and whispered, "Thanks Hedwig." She softly hooted a response and took off through the open window, the letter clasped in her beak. With three loud cracks, Remus, Harry, and Gabrielle disapparated from the living room.


	4. Chapter Three

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** Sorry about the LONG delay! My life has been crazy in so many different ways. Forgive me? And remember, Narini is the offspring of Nagini.

Thanks go out to my faithful beta, Lauren.

**DISCLAIMER** Michelle belongs to a different story that I wrote called _Red and White_. Other than that, all characters belong to JK Rowling.

It took two days and nights of excruciating, never-ending boredom to drive Cho to pick up Gadding With Ghouls. The first time, she skimmed it recklessly and tossed it aside after an evening. The second time, she dragged it out, reading only one page an hour.

She had reached the sixth chapter ("How I Rescued Wilhelmina Harker IX While Tied To A Stake") for the second time when her door burst open. Quickly, she scrambled off of the bed and stared at the Death Eater in the doorway.

"She wants to see you," Marcus Flint said.

Cho rolled her eyes. "That the only phrase you know?" she asked sarcastically.

He responded by grabbing her roughly by the elbow and dragging her from the room. Soon, she stood impatiently before Bellatrix again. "Hello again, little Orderling."

"Nice of you to let me out of my cell, Bellatrix," Cho retorted.

Bellatrix clucked her tongue. "Now, now, girlie, that's no way to talk about your home!"

Cho narrowed her eyes. "This is not my home."

Bellatrix shrugged indifferently. "Maybe not now. But it was once before and it will be again. I can wait."

With a snort, Cho replied, "I never figured you as a patient person."

Behind Bellatrix, a few of the Death Eaters gasped. Cho stood her ground, inwardly cringing as Bellatrix slowly grinned. "You always were a feisty little girl. Glad to see that Dumbledore hasn't managed to charm everything out of you."

Something in the way Bellatrix was watching her made her wonder. "Why would Dumbledore want to charm me?" she asked.

"I don't know really why he did it," the female Death Eater said offhandedly. "Dumbledore didn't feel the need to inform me of his rationale. But he didn't want you to remember something, I suppose. After all, what are memory charms for?"

Cho suddenly felt cold. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Bellatrix laughed, her high voice steeped with a maniacal tone, and rolled her eyes. "Of course you don't! That's why it's called a memory charm! I thought little Potter only accepted smart people into his playgroup."

Blushing, Cho kept her eyes on Bellatrix. "You're lying."

"Whatever you have to tell yourself," Bellatrix said easily. She brightened. "I'm sure you'd like to get back to your reading now."

'Anything's better than you,' Cho thought contemptuously.

Bellatrix's features darkened. "Never learned Occlumancy, I see. Best not to think that way girlie, or you'll make me mad."

Cho felt a chill race down her spine. Marcus Flint all but pushed her back to her room and slammed the door. Shaking, she sank down on her bed.

A memory charm. Bellatrix had said that Dumbledore put a memory charm on her. "It's a lie," she muttered darkly to herself. It had to be. Dumbledore would never do that. She fought back the prickly beginnings of tears that always came with thoughts of their late headmaster. She lay back, convincing herself that it was all a trick, or more likely, a psychotic head game.

Yet there was a tiny part of her that couldn't let the idea go. It was almost as though she was waiting to hear the words out loud in order to find out if they were true.

"No!" she said as she stood and furiously began pacing. "Dumbledore wouldn't do that to me! He wouldn't do that to any of us!"

But she was unable to convince herself. Angry and lonely, she flopped back onto her bed and snatched up Gadding with Ghouls. She didn't care how Lockhart claimed to rescue Wilhelmina Harker IX while tied to a stake, but there was nothing else to do. The book managed to take the edge off of that nagging thought of memory charms.

But her reprieve didn't last long. A single sentence she read jumped out at her immediately. She pressed her nose to the book and reread it several times. In her excitement, she unconsciously began to read aloud.

"Wilhelmina was imprisoned, being guarded by an exceptionally large troll. I of course knew the perfect incantation with which to distract him, but was myself tied to a stake and under the watchful eye of a particularly articulate giant. Wilhelmina had unfortunately received an _Obliviate_ curse and could not remember how to best defeat her captor. I had to lead her to break her own memory charm."

Cho had to put the book down. Harry and Ron had regaled everyone with stories of Gilderoy Lockhart, usually being rewarded with raucous laughter. However, Cho did remember that the one and only thing Lockhart was good as was the memory charm. It was only natural that he would know how to break them.

She read the passage that followed, in which Lockhart so kindly explained the exact steps in breaking the charm. It didn't sound all that hard. She was without her wand, but it didn't matter. She had to know the truth and this is the only way.

In the living room turned throne room, Bellatrix Lestrange smiled.

…

The kitchen in 12 Grimmauld Place was a depressing sight. Tonks stood behind Remus, absent-mindedly stroking his hair. Seated on either side of the long table were Harry and Gabrielle, joined by Ron, Hermione, Luna Lovegood, and Hagrid. No one said anything for a long time.

Finally, Hermione said resolutely, "What's the next step?"

Remus sighed heavily. "I'm not sure there is one."  
"Are we supposed to give her up for dead?" Gabrielle asked angrily.

Tonks immediately turned her fierce gaze on Gabrielle. "We want Cho to be found just as much as you do!" she snapped. "Don't you think Remus is doing everything he can?"

"It's been days, Tonks!" Ron pointed out. "We don't even know if Cho's dead or alive!"

"We're doing everything we can!" Tonks shot back. Hermione put a hand on Ron's arm to stop him from arguing further. Likewise, Remus quietly asked Tonks to calm down. The kitchen fell back into uneasy silence.

"What about the book?"

Everyone turned to look at Luna. "What book?" Ron asked.

"The Hogwarts book, of course," she answered.

"What's the Hogwarts book?" Gabrielle asked.

Remus meanwhile looked suddenly hopeful. "The Hogwarts book! Of course! Well that would certainly answer one question."

"Remus," Harry said. "What are you talking about?"

"The birth of every magical child is recorded in an ancient book kept at Hogwarts," Hermione explained. "Then the Headmaster or Deputy Headmaster checks it every year to see who's turned eleven so that they can send their letter." Her voice turned exasperated. "Are you ever going to read Hogwarts, A History?"

"The book is enchanted to record each student's death as well," Remus added before Harry or Ron could answer Hermione. "It could tell us for sure whether Cho is still alive or not."

Everyone was silently afraid of the same thing. For all they knew, the book had already recorded Cho's death.

A loud crack startled them and Bill Weasley leaned against the doorframe. "Any luck?" he asked. The long faces he was met with answered for him. He sank down next to Luna "Still nothing."

"That's not exactly true," Remus said. "The Hogwarts book should be able to tell us at least if she's still alive."

Bill looked around the table and made a face. "Well?" he asked exasperatedly. "Why are we still here?"

At his word, everyone seemed to wake up and got to their feet. "I'll stay behind," Remus offered. "Just in case someone else finds anything."

The others nodded. Harry paused at the door. "Good luck," Remus said. Harry gave him a small, sad smile and followed the others upstairs. Remus heard a succession of loud cracks as they left for Hogwarts and then silence

…

The village of Hogsmeade was quiet. It was a different place now than when Harry was in school. The war had effectively destroyed it and it had never recovered.

Madam Rosmerta, after failing to properly help Draco in his first mission from the Dark Lord, had been murdered. The Three Broomsticks had been closed ever since. The Weasley twins were successful in buying Zonko's but sold the building when Hogsmeade proved an unsatisfactory location. Only Honeydukes remained open, but seldom did students shop there anymore.

They all stood in the middle of the street for a moment before Bill spoke up. "Come on. We have a job to do."

Dutifully they all turned their backs on where they used to spend carefree weekends and headed for the castle. "I haven't been back here in a while," Ron muttered.

"None of us have," Luna said with a shrug.

They trudged on in silence. The large door opened and Michelle stood waiting for them in the entrance. "I just heard from Remus," she said as she ushered everyone inside. "And I've notified the Headmistress. She's waiting for you in her office."

"Thanks Michelle," Bill said.

She smiled. "No problem. I hope you find good news."

They headed up the stairs. It wasn't long before they saw the magnificent stone gargoyle of the Head's office. Current Hogwarts Headmistress Sinistra stood before it waiting for them. "Harry," she said warmly. "It's good to see you. I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances."

He smiled sad. "So am I. Can we look at the book?"

"Of course. Follow me." She turned to the gargoyle and said, "Cassiopeia." It sprang to life at her word and they followed her up the rotating stone steps.

…

Cho sat sobbing on her bed. It was true. She'd followed Gilderoy Lockart's instructions and immediately been assaulted with a series of bright memory flashes. It was the beginning of the charm being broken.

She had never felt so betrayed in her entire life. The first thing that she'd seen was Dumbledore approaching her. She was a young child. There was sadness in his eyes as he pointed his wand at her and said, "_Obliviate_." She wanted to believe it was a trick, but her heart knew better.

Dumbledore had done this to her. He had stolen part of her life from her and the life she led now had all been a lie! Fresh tears broke out. She cried out not only her anger and pain over Dumbledore's betrayal but also her guilt over being so mad at the man who had given his life to protect her and the other students.

In a burst of emotion, Cho threw Gadding with Ghouls savagely across the room. It would be easy to blame Bellatrix Lestrange or even Lockhart for helping her, but she couldn't. Some part of her knew that she'd walked into a trap, that Bellatrix wanted her to break the charm for her own twisted purpose, but Cho didn't care.

The pieces of her memory were coming in frenzied waves, nearly overwhelming her. There wasn't much she could sort out, try as she might. She thought she recognized the bedroom she was in and wondered if Bellatrix had been telling her the truth about having been there before.

Taking deep breaths to try and stop her tears, Cho focused all of her energy on sorting through the images assaulting her head. The more she calmed down, the easier it became to make some sense of everything. Soon she remembered something about a baby and a fairy princess costume. She remembered wandering through a cornfield late at night and looking up at a huge billboard.

It said, "Welcome to Smallville, Kansas, The Creamed Corn Capital of the World."

…

Bellatrix sat alone in her throne room, Narini coiled in her lap. Bellatrix stroked her head absently and the snake hissed with pleasure. "Soon, my dear," she murmured. "It has started. Soon the girl will go searching for her parents and family and when she does?"

Narini lifted her head irritably as the petting stopped. She snapped her jaws. Bellatrix laughed and looked into the snake's eyes. "When she does, she will lead me right to Kal-El's doorstep."


	5. Chapter Four

**AUTHOR'S NOTE **I always thought Sinistra would make a good Headmistress – plus this story takes place after the series ends, so they would have a new headmaster anyway. Thanks as always to Lauren for betaing.

**DISCLAIMER** Don't own anyone.

Harry and the others entered Headmistress Sinistra's office quietly. Late afternoon sun filtered through the paned windows and many of the former Heads snoozed lazily in their portraits.

One, however, was not asleep, although Harry may have wished that he was. Albus Dumbledore smiled down at the visitors. "Hello Harry!' he said brightly. "What brings you by?"

Ron and Hermione glanced at Harry sadly. Talking to Dumbledore's portrait would never be the same as having him there while he was alive. It only drove the knife deeper. But Harry resolutely smiled weakly. "We have to check the Hogwarts book, Professor. One of us is missing."

Dumbledore looked troubled. "Who is it?"

"Cho Chang," Ron answered.

The lines on Dumbledore's face deepened. "Oh dear. I was afraid of this."

The group shared a confused look. "What do you mean, Professor?" Harry asked.

"Please Harry, check the book. Tell me what you find."

Harry glanced at Sinistra, who shrugged. He turned back to the portrait. "Of course, Professor."

Sinistra led them through the office up to a closed door hidden in the corner. It sprang open at her touch. She gestured through the archway. "In there."

Harry didn't smile. "Thank you, Professor."

She smiled slightly. "I hope it helps. Miss Chang was always a great student. I hope you find her."

They shared an uneasy look and, one by one, filed into the small room. The door closed behind them.

Hermione pushed Harry toward the table where a thick, ancient book lay. "You do it," she whispered. Ron, Gabrielle, Luna, and Bill nodded their agreement and Harry took a deep breath and nodded.

The book fell open to the middle. The names were more neatly organized than he had expected, with name, date of birth, and date of death all primly in a row. Harry quickly found that he'd opened to birth dates in the 1950's and a cold chill crept down his spine as he ran his finger down the page.

Sure enough, nestled snuggly on the page were "Lily Evans" ("Potter" was added in parentheses after it), "James Potter," "Sirius Black," "Peter Pettigrew," and "Severus Snape," all with matching dates of death. A combination of sorrow and rage filled his heart as he looked at the black ink, imagining the day those names first appeared and how innocent they must all have looked. He felt Ron's hand on his shoulder. "Come on, mate," he said softly. "Cho was born in 1979."

Begrudgingly, Harry turned the pages. As he went, he noticed more death dates for Percy Weasley, Oliver Wood, Roger Davies, Alicia Spinnet, and Cedric Diggory. Trembling, he finally found the correct page and began scanning the names.

"Her birthday's in September," Hermione said helpfully. Harry dropped down to the students born in September, but soon looked up again, puzzled.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course." Hermione looked vaguely offended. "She was just on holiday for her birthday, remember?"

Harry looked deeply troubled. "She isn't here."

"What?" Bill said.

"Let me see," Hermione said and ran her finger down the page. She looked back up, perplexed. "He's right. Cho's not listed."

"What do you mean she's not listed?" Bill asked. "That doesn't make sense."

Harry shrugged. "See for yourself. There isn't even a space where her name should be. It's like she was never here at all."

A collective chill swept through the room. "That's impossible," Hermione said. "Isn't it?"

"How could she have just disappeared?" Gabrielle asked.

"Dumbledore will know," Harry said firmly. "He suspected something was wrong, remember?"

Ron and Hermione shared a worried look. "Harry…" Hermione started to say.

"You don't have to say it," Harry said stoically. "I know. It's just his portrait." He closed the book and headed back to the door. "Come on. We're done."

…

Cho woke up sprawled on her bed, Gadding with Ghouls still standing crooked in the corner where she'd thrown it the night before. She sat up and rubbed her eyes blearily. There was no way to tell if it was morning, but it didn't really matter.

Nothing really mattered to her anymore, not even being held hostage by Death Eaters. What were Death Eaters to her anyway? Everything in her life was a lie.

Dreams mixed with old memories had plagued her through the night. Memories of a dark-haired man and woman, who Cho realized must be her biological parents, faded into images of being in Bellatrix's house. It was confusing. Cho wondered how she'd gone from her parents in Smallville, Kansas to the house in which Bellatrix Lestrange, the neo-Voldemort, now lived.

There was another man she remembered, but only his voice. He told her that he was her father now. That she was his daughter. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. Maybe her birth parents had given her up for adoption. Maybe they'd abandoned her.

It made sense. Whoever had adopted her must have been horrible people. She remembered Dumbledore bursting in through a doorway. Maybe he had come to rescue her. Maybe the memory charm was meant to help her forget those horrible people. It brought her some peace to think that Dumbledore was only trying to protect her.

But why erase her memory? Why not return her to her real parents?

'Because they didn't want me,' she thought bitterly. 'They gave me away. I wish I could find them and tell them exactly what I think of them.'

The more Cho thought about tracking down her real parents and giving them a piece of her mind, the more attractive the idea became. It would certainly ease the blow to know exactly why they gave her up.

Of course, the only flaw in her plan was the fact that Bellatrix had her imprisoned. She'd tried Apparating, to no avail. If there was any way to escape, first she'd need her wand to find it.

Then suddenly, it was right there. Her wand sat still on the bedside table beside her. Not stopping to think about how it had come to be there or why, Cho grabbed it and ran for the door.

"_Alohamora_!" she whispered. The lock clicked open. She peeped into the hallway to find it quite deserted. Praying that no one would discover her, she crept through the corridors, searching for a window, a door, anything that could lead her to the outside.

Finally, the fourth door she tried led her to a room with a single window. A well- placed, silenced _Reducto_ curse shattered it and Cho vaulted through the opening out onto the grass. She didn't even glance back at the house before taking off in a run.

If she had, she might have seen the evil grin as Bellatrix watched her from an upstairs window.

…

Professor Sinistra was waiting as Harry, Ron, Hermione, Bill, Gabrielle, and Luna filed out of the small room. "Any luck?" she asked.

Ron and Hermione shook their heads sadly. Harry ignored her and went straight for Dumbledore's portrait. "Cho's not there, Professor. What's going on?"

The former headmaster looked deeply troubled. "Oh dear, oh dear. I was quite afraid this would happen."

"That what would happen?" Harry pressed.

A look that very nearly reflected guilt clouded Dumbledore's face. "Harry, you must believe that I am very sorry for what I've done. I hope that all of you, including Miss Chang, can forgive me."

Struggling to keep his often-volatile frustration in check, Harry paused before replying, "If we don't find Cho, she won't be able to forgive you."

That seemed to affect Dumbledore and he turned his attention to Sinistra. "Headmistress, in the closet behind the desk, you will find a small vial marked with my name. Will you retrieve it, please?"

Sinistra nodded. Everyone watched expectantly as she rummaged around in the cupboard and emerged with a small corked container. Harry's jaw dropped when he recognized the silvery gaseous liquid. "Professor, is that…?"

"Yes Harry," Dumbledore said. "It is an old memory of mine. I have kept it for nearly sixteen years now, in case this specific situation ever arose."

Harry took the glass bottle and moved to open it, but Dumbledore's gentle voice stopped him. "Harry, please wait. There is another that I must ask you to share this memory with."

Harry frowned. "Remus?" he asked.

"No, not Remus."

"Then who?" Ron asked.

"You must travel to the Salem Witches' Institute in America. Their headmaster is Silas Hawthorne. He too will be most interested in what that memory has to show."

"Silas Hawthorne?" Hermione asked. "Isn't he the grandson of Nathaniel Hawthorne?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, Miss Granger. Professor Hawthorne will be able to offer you more help in finding Miss Chang than I." The smile faded from his face and was replaced by a look of worried urgency. "Hurry to America, Harry. I fear Cho may be in great danger."

An anxious look passed among the group. Harry stowed the memory safely in his pocket. "Thank you for your help, Professor."

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "Good luck, Harry."

Harry nodded and turned away. Sinistra too wished them luck as they filed out of her office.


	6. Chapter Five

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** This chapter might be a little confusing, but if you have any questions, leave them for me and I'll try to answer them next chapter. Thanks as always to my wonderful beta Lauren.

**DISCLAIMER** Don't own anyone, but I did make up the idea of Liza.

The group halted in the Entry Hall. Hermione looked worried. "Are you sure about this, Harry? Rushing off to America? Cho's most likely still here in Britain. How do we know – "

"Dumbledore said so," Ron said.

Hermione's face fell. "Dumbledore's dead, Ron," she said quietly.

"Do you have a better idea?" Harry snapped.

She was silent for a moment, fighting back tears. "Someone should at least let Remus know what's going on," she finally said.

Harry pushed past her and headed outside. "We don't have time."

"But Harry – "

Bill laid a firm hand on her shoulder. "You heard what Dumbledore said. Any moment wasted could lead to Cho's death." He, Ron, and Gabrielle hurried to catch up with Harry, leaving Hermione and Luna trudging after them.

Soon they'd reached the sadly dilapidated main street of Hogsmeade. "You go ahead," Hermione said. "I'm going to tell Remus what's going on. Someone should."

Harry looked at her guiltily, about to protest, but Luna spoke up first. "No Hermione, go with them. I'll go talk to Remus." Her voice dropped just a bit. "They have skinwalkers in America."

A look passed through the group. "What is a skinwalker?" Gabrielle asked.

"A person who can change into a wolf," she replied.

Ron hid a smirk. "So an animagus."

Luna shook her head. "Skinwalkers are muggles. Like to kill people, too."

"Right," Ron muttered under his breath. Hermione suppressed a smile. "Well, good luck with that," he said. Luna smiled dreamily and, with a snap, Disapparated. Ron laughed. "Muggle animagi. Come on! Does she really believe this stuff?"

Hermione sent him a glare. "Ron, be nice." Ron shrugged. Hermione turned to Harry hesitantly. "Ready?"

Harry looked at her, a trace of anger still in his eyes, but it quickly melted. "Yeah," he said with a sad smile. "Let's go." Seconds later, they were gone.

…

Salem Witches' Institute had much more complex spells to hide it than Hogwarts. Salem itself was a populated area, as well as a huge tourist attraction for muggles all over New England and especially Boston. The school itself was just outside the town near the ocean. Whereas Hogwarts looked like ruins to the muggle eye, Salem Institute was actually invisible. Any muggle who ventured close was overcome by an undeniable urge to buy New England muggle sports apparel and hurried away.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Gabrielle, and Bill appeared with a crack on the edge of a quiet marshland. The sun had recently set and the evening fog glowed softly gray in the deepening dusk. "It's beautiful!" Hermione breathed. Ron smiled and took her hand.

Bill looked around. "Where's the school?"

Everyone peered through the mist. "I think I see a light," Ron said and started off. The others followed.

They were met with a magnificent sight. A huge grand Victorian mansion rose out of the sand dunes, surrounded by nearly a hundred smaller cottages, all lit with brightly glowing windows. "Wow," Ron said.

"It's so pretty!" Gabrielle added.

"And so big," said Bill. "What do you suppose all those cottages are for?"

"Some are our classrooms," came a voice from beside them. "Others are offices or storage."

The group turned to see a smiling woman emerge from the shadows. She approached Harry. "You're Harry Potter, right? We were told you were coming."

Harry smiled and said, "Yes," as he shook her hand. "And this is Ron Weasley, Bill Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Gabrielle Delacour."

"I'm Elizabeth Mather," she said. "History of Magic Professor." Upon seeing Hermione's face, she laughed. "I know what you're going to say. Yes, I'm a descendent of Increase and Cotton. I'm also descended from one of the founders of Salem Institute. Grandfather Increase and Grandfather Cotton were both squibs and rather bitter about it." She grinned. "They took the bitterness just a bit too far." She waved a hand. "But I talk to much. Please follow me."

They followed Elizabeth toward the mansion. "Is Salem the only school in America?" Gabrielle asked.

Elizabeth nodded. "There's been talk of founding another somewhere in California, but that won't happen until Salem can no longer handle the number of students."

"Is there a high magical population in California?" Bill asked.

Elizabeth laughed. "Of course! How else do you think films like _Glitter_ get made?" Harry and Hermione chuckled and nodded. Ron, Bill, and Gabrielle just looked at each other and shrugged.

Elizabeth pushed open the heavy door and led them into the foyer. Everyone stared open-mouthed at the ornate décor lit by flickering candlelight. Where Hogwarts was mysterious stone and passageways, Salem Institute was picturesque turn-of-the-century New England grandeur. She let them gawk for a moment before leading them to the grand staircase. "I've got to warn you, Headmaster Hawthorne's office is on the fifth floor. It's quite a climb."

Harry grinned. "Everything at Hogwarts is in towers and turrets. We're used to climbing."

Laughing, she replied, "Then follow me."

Up they climbed, passing students and other teachers alike. Many stared at Harry and Ron and Hermione as well, as they were well known as being close to the famous Boy Who Lived. It has been four years since Voldemort's defeat, however, and Harry had long since gotten used to the stares.

They were expecting something akin to the revolving stone gargoyle at Hogwarts, but the door to the Salem Headmaster's office was just a richly carved oak door with a large brass handle. "Professor Hawthorne is waiting for you," Elizabeth said. "You can go right in."

"Thank you," Harry said. He pulled the door open and held it as the others hesitantly entered.

Silas Hawthorne stood up behind his desk as they came in. He was very old, but retained a sense of physical strength, as though his body had refused to age properly. His presence was different than Dumbledore's had been, but no less powerful. He wore no glasses and had only a short gray beard and long curly gray hair. He smiled and crossed to Harry, his hand outstretched. "Harry Potter! I'm very glad to meet you, sir."

"It's an honor to meet you too, sir," Harry replied as they shook hands. "Thank you very much for seeing us."

"Of course!" He smiled at the others. "And I recognize you all as well. Tell me, what has happened to earn me a visit from such an assembly?" he asked and, with a wave of his wand, conjured chairs for each of them.

"One of our friends is missing," Gabrielle said. "Perhaps you can help us find her."

Professor Hawthorne sat down at his desk thoughtfully. "I'll certainly try my best. What is your friend's name?"

"Cho Chang," Ron said.

"I'm sorry," Hawthorne said apologetically. "I've never heard of her. What makes you think I can help you?"

"Dumbledore. He sent us," Hermione said. "Or, his portrait did."

"Curious," the American headmaster said. "I can never claim to be as wise as Albus Dumbledore. Why send you all the way here?"

They all glanced at Harry. "I don't know," he admitted. "We went to Hogwarts to look at the book to make sure that Cho was still alive." After a pause, he added, "And she wasn't in it. There wasn't even an empty space for her name."

Professor Hawthorne now looked troubled. "Well that at least makes sense."

"How?" asked Hermione.

"One of our most treasured students disappeared from our book when she was a small child," he said sadly. "The first witch after many generations of squibs descended from a very powerful sorceress."

Hermione looked at the floor. "I'm sorry."

Hawthorne smiled, still sad. "But when we lost Liza, the line in our book remained empty. That's strange that yours did not."

Harry reached into his pocket and withdrew the vial of silvery liquid. "Dumbledore left this in case of this situation, he said." Hawthorne looked interested. "He asked me to share it with you," Harry continued. "Do you have a penseive?"

"I do," said Hawthorne, standing up. He retrieved a large stone basin from a cupboard and placed it on his desk. Harry uncorked the bottle and poured the memory into the bowl. After getting a nod from Professor Hawthorne, he took a deep breath and leaned down.

He felt himself pitch forward and fall through the darkness before he landed hard on a wooden floor. The world around him was slightly off-color as it always was in the penseive. Seconds later, Professor Hawthorne landed beside him.

They were in an old house. It actually resembled 12 Grimmauld Place when the Order had first moved in. The door behind them flew open and Harry turned to see Dumbledore and a slightly less beat-up Mad-Eye Moody in the doorway. "Search the second floor," Dumbledore said.

"And what about them?" Mad-Eye grumbled. "These Death Eaters aren't like the others."

"Most have been taken into custody, Alastor. Any others, I'm sure you can deal with them. Just find her."

Moody nodded and stomped off up the stairs. Harry watched him go curiously, but they followed Dumbledore as he began searching room to room.

"Harry," Professor Hawthorne asked. "What is this all about?"

Harry shrugged, but they were startled by an unfamiliar voice. "I don't care what you do! You'll never have her!"

They ran up behind Dumbledore, who was facing off with a wild and crazy looking man. "I assure you," Dumbledore said calmly, his wand outstretched. "I will."

"She is ours!" he snarled. "And one day, she will face the Boy Who Lived and she will defeat him in the name of our Dark Lord!"

A chill crept down Harry's spine. "To face me," he whispered. "There's a girl out there waiting to face me."

"She will never reach that point," Dumbledore continued. "I'm taking her."

"I will die to protect her!"

"_Stupefy_!" Mad-Eye Moody roared. The man dropped.

Dumbledore stepped over the man's unconscious form. "That won't be necessary. Thank you, Alastor."

"No problem. She's upstairs."

Dumbledore smiled and Harry and Hawthorne followed them up the stairs. They turned down several hallways before they finally stopped. Dumbledore threw the door open. Past him, Harry saw a small girl, no more than six or seven, sitting alone on a bed in a bare room.

Beside him, Professor Hawthorne gasped and whispered, "Liza!"

"Hello Liza," Dumbledore said kindly.

"Who are you?" she snapped.

"I'm a friend. I'm going to take you away from here."

The child looked at him distrustfully. Suddenly the room around them began swirling and they were swept up only to land again in the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts. A lump formed in Harry's throat, for it was how he remembered it. Several strange-looking metal instruments whirled quietly on tables, Godric Gryffindor's sword rested on its stand, and Fawkes the Phoenix sat serenely on his perch.

Professor McGonagall, Mad-Eye Moody, and a young couple joined Dumbledore in the office. Liza sat silently in the corner. "Mr. and Mrs. Chang, I thank you very much for agreeing to this. It is just too dangerous to send Liza back to her parents. I do not know what the shower will do to her."

Mrs. Chang smiled. "Of course."

Dumbledore looked sad. "You understand of course why the charm is so imperative." They both nodded. "And that it will extend to not only all of you, but anyone you happen to come in contact with."

Everyone nodded again. Dumbledore walked to Liza's side. She looked up at him as he pointed his wand at her and said softly, "_Obliviate_."

The others in the room seemed to stagger a bit before blinking and straightening again. Mr. Chang looked at Liza. "Come on, Cho honey. We don't want to take up Professor Dumbledore's time."

Liza ('Or Cho?' Harry thought, confused) got up from the table and took Mr. Chang's hand. "Okay Daddy."

Dumbledore smiled. "Goodbye Cho. I shall see you again soon."

She smiled shyly. "Okay."

Everyone left the office and Dumbledore headed for the room in the corner that held the book. The door opened to his touch, just as it had for Sinistra. Over Dumbledore's shoulder, Harry saw that the name "Cho Chang" had been squeezed into the page. "It is done," Dumbledore whispered.

There was a split second of darkness before Harry and Professor Hawthorne soared backward through the air and stood shakily in the Salem Head's office. Ron, Hermione, Bill, and Gabrielle all looked at them nervously. "Are you okay?" Gabrielle asked, going to Harry's side. He nodded weakly.

"What'd you find?" Bill asked.

Professor Hawthorne sank down at his desk. "I think first I had better tell you about Liza Lang." Everyone sat down and listened raptly. Hawthorne sighed. "Have any of you ever heard of Isabelle Theroux?"

"Of course," Gabrielle said. "She was one of the most powerful French sorceresses in the last thousand years. She was one of Beauxbaton's most famous students."

He smiled wryly. "Right on both counts. Unfortunately, Countess Theroux was consumed by greed and desire for three legendary crystals that, once joined, would unlock the secrets of the universe. In 1604, an angry mob caught her and her two followers and burned them at the stake. She left behind one child, a squib. Wizards all over Europe and America have watched her bloodline for centuries hoping for the return of magic. In September of 1979, we discovered that it had finally happened and the family lived in America. Liza Lang was put down for the Salem Institute the day she was born. We were thrilled."

"What happened to her?" Ron asked.

"She was kidnapped on the night before her seventh birthday. Not long after, she disappeared from our book. We never figured out why."

"Couldn't you do anything?" asked Hermione. "I mean, how could she just disappear?"

"Cho just disappeared," Bill pointed out. Harry watched Professor Hawthorne, waiting for him to continue, as Hermione quieted again.

"Her mother was pregnant when she was kidnapped and we had high hopes that the second child would be magical as well. She wasn't," he clarified before anyone could ask. "And then when the second daughter, Lana, was almost three, a meteor shower nearly destroyed the town. The Lang parents were killed."

"That's awful," Hermione whispered.

They were all quiet for a minute. Harry figured it was his turn to pick up the story. "Dumbledore found Liza," he said quietly. "She'd been kidnapped by a bunch of crazy Death Eaters who wanted to make her into some kind of anti-hero to face me. That's what the memory was."

"Oh Harry!" Gabrielle cried. "That's horrible!"

He nodded. "And it gets better. After he rescued her, he didn't return her to her parents. He knew the meteor shower was coming and was afraid of what it would do to her, I guess because of her heritage."

Hermione glanced between Harry and Professor Hawthorne, both of whom were visible upset. "What did he do with her?"

Harry took a deep breath, steeling himself for their reaction. "He put a memory charm on her. An Obliviate." He paused. "And then he gave her to Mr. and Mrs. Chang to raise as their daughter."

"Bloody Hell," Bill whispered. "That's impossible."

Shaking his head, Harry answered, "No. I saw the Hogwarts book. After the charm, Cho's name was squeezed in between two others. It was never supposed to be there."

Professor Hawthorne looked dazed. "Liza Lang has been alive all these years."

"That's why there was no empty line," Hermione said. "But that still doesn't explain why her name disappeared. What happened to her?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know."

Gabrielle looked troubled. "What did Dumbledore think this meteor shower was going to do to her?"

"The rocks left behind by the meteors have altered the Muggles living in the area," Hawthorne explained. "Gave them different powers. Dumbledore must not have wanted to risk Countess Theroux's only magically-inclined heir." Suddenly a strange, frenzied look came over his face and he pushed himself up from his desk. "I wonder…"

Ron and Hermione shared a look. "Wonder what?" Ron asked.

"Come with me."

He led them to a spiral staircase along one wall that led to a balcony-like second level. One at a time, they climbed up to see another ancient leather book lying on a pedestal. "That's Salem's book," Harry said.

"Yes," Hawthorne said as he began turning the pages furiously. Then, just as suddenly, he stopped. Slowly, he turned to the group. "It's here."

Harry asked, "What's there, Professor?"

"Liza Lang. Her name is back."

…

The sun was beginning to set in Smallville. Cornfields stood golden green, waving in the light breeze. Cho wandered down the middle of the street. There were no cars. In fact, there were no people anywhere.

The billboard that Cho remembered was still there, but it was different. Instead of being the Creamed Corn Capitol of the World, Smallville was now heralded as the Meteor Capitol of the World. Cho looked at it for a minute, then shrugged and headed for town.


	7. Chapter Six

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** Sorry for the delay! I hope the characters here aren't too OOC. I tried to make them as in character as possible. Also, what Lex is talking about with being the new Smallville villain is the whole thing about his plant at the end of season one. This story takes place between "Vortex" (the aftermath of the tornadoes) and "Heat" (the one where Clark gets his heat vision). I'm choosing to ignore that whole thing in "Heat" about Lex's crazy fiancé.

Thanks as always to my beta Lauren!

**DISCLAIMER** JK Rowling and whoever owns _Smallville_ on these characters, not me, as usual.

It took Cho awhile to even get to a house. And much to her wonder, it was not a house so much as a stone castle worthy of an English moor. Cautiously, she approached the gate and peered through the bars. There was no one around. The castle looked fairly deserted.

"_Alohamora_," she whispered and slipped through the gate. Dusk was deepening, but she was afraid to ignite the tip of her wand for fear of being seen. Even so, it wasn't hard to find the front door of the massive mansion as the driveway was softly lit by a glow streaming through the stained glass windows.

The front hall was huge. Nothing like Hogwarts of course, but more impressive than any home she'd ever seen. She smirked. 'I bet it's even bigger than the Malfoys!'

For a house as obviously expensive as this one, it certainly was not guarded well. Or at all. "So where are all the people?" she muttered to herself as she picked a hallway and wandered down it.

"They're watching you on the closed-circuit surveillance system."

Cho spun around at the voice, hiding her wand in her sleeve. "Who're you?" she asked.

He laughed wryly. "I could ask you the same question. I live here. You don't. Now, you want to tell me what you're doing sneaking around my mansion?"

Cho felt her face burn. The man standing before her was a muggle, but he was powerful nonetheless. He was dressed in a sophisticated suit and, although he looked close to her age, he was completely bald. And his stare was not all that friendly. "Well?" he pressed.

"I'm lost," she said lamely.

He raised an eyebrow. "In my foyer?"

"I'm new in town."

He walked toward her. "I can see that." A ghost of a smile played on his lips. "Thing about a town called Smallville, you tend to know everyone."

Cho relaxed a little. "I bet."

The man paused at a doorway and beckoned her inside. "I'm pretty convinced you aren't here to rob me, so why don't you come in and sit down?" Noticing her hesitation, he added, "I insist."

After a moment, she replied, "All right."

The room he led her to actually resembled Ravenclaw's common room back at Hogwarts. Awkwardly, she sat down. Her host crossed to a decanter of liquor set on one of the tables. "Would you like a drink?" he asked. She shook her head. He shrugged and poured only one for himself. "You never did tell me who you were."

Cho lifted her chin defiantly. "Neither did you."

He laughed. "Well I don't know about where you're from, but around here it's usually the person breaking in who answers the questions."

Angry at how flustered this stranger made her, Cho replied, "I didn't break in."

"Of course." He nodded, humoring her. "I just left my front gate open, which I've never done before, and you wandered in because you were lost. How could I ever doubt you?"

She was blushing again. "I really am new in town," she offered.

"Oh, I don't doubt that." He settled himself into a leather chair. "Anyone who lives here would know better than to skulk around my house."

"Why?"

He looked at her strangely. "Why? I'm Smallville's new supervillain," he answered mockingly. "I've been shunned my whole life. Here isn't any different." A look of comprehension swept across his face. "Do you know who I am?" he suddenly asked.

Cho shook her head. "Should I?"

"No, it's somewhat refreshing to meet someone who doesn't. I'm Lex Luthor." Lex watched her closely for a reaction to his name at least, but there was none. Instead, he smiled. "Now do I get to know your name?"  
"Oh! Sorry." But Cho paused. What was her real name? She remembered the name her birth parents had given her, but it didn't mean anything. Finally, she said, "I'm Cho Chang."

"Well Cho Chang, what are you doing here in Smallville?" Lex asked. "Judging from your accent, I'd say that you're pretty far from home."

Cho smirked humorlessly. "Actually I am home."

Lex looked confused. "You want to explain that one?"

She stood up and begain pacing restlessly. "It has recently been brought to my attention that I was adopted when I was a child. My parents were from here. I came back to find them."

Lex stood to join her. "Wow. That's a lot to handle all of a sudden. Your parents never told you?"

Shaking her head, Cho replied, "No. I suppose they never felt the need."

"That's rough."

She nodded. "So now I'm here waiting to knock on my real parents' door. Only trouble is, I don't know which door to knock on."

Lex looked thoughtful. "I'm sure I could help you find them. I know pretty much everyone in this town, even if most of them don't like me." Cho cracked a smile. "What's the name?" Lex asked.

Cho shrugged. "Don't know."

"And therein lies the problem," Lex finished. He thought for another minute, then smiled. "Well I can't help you, but I know someone who probably can."

Doubtfully, Cho asked, "Who?"

"A couple that has a farm just outside of town. Their son is adopted. They might know how to track down your biological parents."

She smiled. "That sounds great. What's their name?"

"Jonathan and Martha Kent," Lex replied.

"Okay, great."

An awkward silence fell between them. Finally, Lex said, "You should probably get going. Don't want it to get too late."

"Yeah." Cho nodded. "Right."

Lex led her back to the front door and gave her directions to the Kent farm. "Let me know how everything turns out."

She smiled nervously. "Okay. I'll, uh, see you around."

"Sure." Lex watched her make her way down the dark driveway. It did not occur occur to him until just after she had disappeared to call out, "Hey, do you want a ride?"

But he was met with the sound of a small pop and then silence. He stood there for a moment before shrugging and heading back inside.

…

Jonathan Kent descended the stairs of his family's old farmhouse to see his wife hanging up the phone. "Who was that, sweetheart?"

Martha turned and answered, "Lex." She ignored her husband's sour look and added, "He wanted to give us a head's up."

"About what?"

"He sent a friend of his over. She's adopted and searching for her birth parents here in Smallville," she explained.

"Really," Jonathan said as he entered the kitchen. "And why did Lex feel the need to send her here?"

Martha sighed. "Probably because we have an adopted son. Really Jonathan, Lex isn't as bad as you'd like him to be."

"He investigated Clark!"

"And all he's doing now is trying to help a friend find her family," Martha said soothingly. "Please don't take your feelings toward Lex out on her."

There was a knock on the front door before Jonathan could answer. "That was fast," Martha commented as she went to answer the door.

Cho fidgeted nervously as she waited on the Kents' doorstep. She wasn't sure exactly what put her on edge. Maybe it was being around so many muggles. Of course, being around Lex made her nervous in a whole different way, but she was trying not to think about that.

The door finally opened. Cho smiled. "Hi. You must be Mrs. Kent?"

The red-haired woman stared at her open-mouthed for a minute before finally saying, "Uh, yes. And you must be Cho. Please come in."

Cho walked timidly into the farmhouse and sat at the kitchen table when invited. Mrs. Kent immediately excused herself and retreated to the living room, leaving Cho alone with Mr. Kent. Mr. Kent too seemed to be shaken by the sight of her. "So, uh, what do you know about your birth parents?" he asked.

"Nothing really," she admitted. "Except that they lived in Smallville when I was little."

"That's all?" he pressed.

"And that they threw me away to be adopted by an abusive Englishman," Cho added wryly. She did not see the sharp, distraught look that passed between Mr. and Mrs. Kent. "Do you know anything about tracking down birth parents? Has your son ever tried to find his?"

"No," Mr. Kent said immediately. "We, uh, we think they're dead."

Cho sobered. "I'm sorry. For your son, I mean, uh, not that…" She let her voice trail off awkwardly.

They sat in silence. Mrs. Kent did not return from the kitchen. Finally Cho stood up. "I'm sorry, I'm taking up your time." Hastily, she made for the door.

Mr. Kent followed, clearly as eager for her to leave as she was to be gone. "I'm sorry we couldn't be more help," he said. "Good luck in your search."

"Thanks." Cho practically raced down the stairs as soon as she heard the door of the farmhouse close behind her. She did not Apparate, instead choosing to walk. 'Although the last time I did that,' she mused. 'I got kidnapped by Voldemort's psycho foster-daughter.'

There was another house down the road. Cho headed for the lights almost instinctively. Something about the way the Kents had looked at her was deeply unsettling. They looked afraid of her.

'Maybe they could tell I'm a witch?' she thought. 'No, that's impossible.' A muggle would never have been able to discover a witch just by looking at them and a squib or another witch or wizard would not be afraid.

Nights in Smallville were loud, between the night birds calling and the crickets chirping. Nevertheless, Cho heard a screen door slam and turned around to see a dark-haired woman standing on the porch of the house she had been walking by. "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Not unless you know how to find lost parents," Cho muttered.

The other woman frowned. "Lost parents?"

"Don't worry about it," Cho said and smiled. "Sorry to interrupt your evening."

The woman came slowly down the stairs. "No bother. I'm Nell. Who is it exactly that you're looking for?"

Cho sighed but stopped for a moment and resigned herself to the conversation. "I'm looking for my parents. But I haven't been here for many years. I'm not even sure where to look."

Nell frowned and beckoned Cho to come closer to her. "Come here. Let me see you in the light. Maybe you look like your parents. I know pretty much everyone in Smallville. I've lived here all my life…" Her voice trailed off as the light fell on Cho's face and she did not speak for a long moment. Then she whispered, "Liza?"

Hearing her name triggered a new memory. Cho cocked her head and stared into Nell's eyes, then smiled slightly. "Aunt Nell. I guess I'm home."


	8. Chapter Seven

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** Sorry I haven't posted in a while! Next time won't be so long, I promise!

Big thank you, as always, to my ever-patient beta Lauren.

**DISCLAIMER** Don't own anyone.

Jonathan closed the door with a heavy hand. He turned to Martha, who looked at him blankly. "Tell me that didn't just happen," she begged. "Please."

He sighed and nodded. "I wish I could. I think that was really her, Martha." He crossed to her and held her close to him.

Years of pain came rushing back and Martha broke down in tears. "She thinks they didn't want her," she cried. "She thinks they threw her away."

Jonathan held her comfortingly. The kitchen door banged open and, moments later, their son Clark appeared behind them. "Mom?" he asked immediately. "What's wrong?"

Martha didn't answer. Clark looked to his father for help. "Come into the living room, son," he said. "There's something we have to tell you."

Clark followed them nervously. "What's going on?" he asked. "Is everyone alright? No one's in the hospital or anything, are they?"

"No," Jonathan answered.

He paled. "Did someone else find out about me?"

"No, Clark," Martha said, drying her eyes.

Clark breathed a sigh of relief. "Then what is it?"

Jonathan and Martha shared a look. "Clark, there's something we need to tell you about Lana," Martha finally said.

Apprehension clouded their son's face. "What about Lana?"

Jonathan took a deep breath. "Six years before Lana was born, Mr. and Mrs. Lang had a first child. A daughter." Clark looked surprised. "Her name was Liza."

"What? Why hasn't Lana ever said anything about her?" Clark asked.

"Lana never knew her," Martha answered. "When Laura, Lana's mother, was pregnant with her, Liza was kidnapped on the night before her seventh birthday."

"Oh my God," Clark said softly. "Did they ever find her?"

Martha shook her head sadly. "After a few years, the official report gave her up for dead. And then after the meteor shower, Nell had a funeral service for Liza along with her parents. She never spoke of her again."

Clark was quiet for a long moment. "Does Lana even know about her?"

Martha smiled. "Oh yes. That fairy princess costume that Lana used to wear actually belonged to Liza. Her parents used to tell her about Liza all the time. They never gave up hope that she was alive."

Getting up from the couch, Clark paced around the room. "Why are you telling me this now? What's going on?"

His parents shared a look again. "Clark, did you see anyone leaving the house before you came in?" Jonathan asked.

Clark shook his head. "No, why?"

"A girl came here tonight, searching for her parents," Martha answered, her voice low. "It was Liza."

"What?" Clark exclaimed.

"After all this time, she finally came home," Martha said.

"This is great!" Clark smiled. "Lana will be so happy!"

Jonathan stood and put a hand on his son's arm. "Not so fast. Liza hasn't been in Smallville very long."

"What are you talking about? She spent the first six years of her life here."

Martha joined them. "What your father means is that it didn't sound like Liza knows anything about what's happened since the night she was taken. The meteor shower, her parents, she's even calling herself a different name."

Clark sank back down on the couch. "Oh wow. Poor girl." He jumped up again. "I should go warn Lana! Who knows how she'll take this?"

Jonathan had to grab his arm again. "Son, I don't think we should get involved. This is a family matter between Lana and her sister."

Clark looked reading to argue, but after a moment, sighed and nodded. "You're probably right. I just wish I could be there for her."

"You can be, just not right now." Jonathan squeezed his shoulder. "Don't stay up too late. You've got to help me fix that south fence first thing in the morning."

…

Nell had ushered Cho inside before disappearing up the stairs. Cho thought she heard her crying. She could not sit still, so she began exploring the dining room.

There were pictures everywhere. The framed photograph in the center of the mantelpiece brought tears to Cho's eyes. Gently, she took it down and stared at the young happy couple. "Mum," she whispered. "Dad. What happened? Why did you throw me away?"

Since the first night that she broke the memory charm, many more images and feelings pertaining to her parents had surfaced. Above all, she knew that they loved her and that made the knowledge that they'd given her up all the more painful.

She put the photograph back and looked at the next one. It was of a pretty teenaged girl with Nell. "The baby," Cho said with a sad smile. "A little sister."

There was another picture, this one of her parents and a little girl who must have been her sister when she was a child. And then finally there was one of Cho as a little girl and her parents. Cho picked it up and held it close to her. Somewhere upstairs, Nell was hiding still. Cho knew it would be a long time before she came down. But she was not prepared to turn and see a girl who could only be her sister glaring furiously at her.

"Who are you?" she raged before Cho could say anything. "What are you doing with that picture?" She flew across the room and snatched the frame away.

"Calm down!" Cho finally said. She grabbed the picture back. "This is mine!"

"Like hell it is! Get out of my house!" the girl snarled.

Cho laughed dryly. "Of course I get a brat for a sister. I guess it was my fault for wishing it. This is my house too!"

But the girl had stopped fighting, a look of frozen disbelief on her face. When she found her voice again, she whispered, "Liza?"

"That was my name once," Cho said harshly. "Who are you?"

"I'm Lana," she said. "Your sister!" She as though she was about to hug her, but Cho stepped back. "Where have you been all these years?"

Cho narrowed her eyes. "Why don't you ask Mum and Dad? They're the ones who put me up for adoption."

All the happiness drained out of Lana's face. "What?" she asked, horrified.

"What, can't believe our perfect parents would do that?" Cho bit out. "I suppose they didn't want to deal with two kids, so I got the short end of the broom."

"Liza, what are you talking about?" Lana asked in a small voice.

"Don't call me that!" Cho shouted. "My name is Cho Chang!" She struggled to hold back tears. "So are they around?" she asked. "Good old Mum and Dad?"

Lana was crying. "Why are you saying these things?"

"I want to meet them face-to-face so I can ask them why they threw me away!" Cho cried.

Lana looked her straight in the eye, her eyes flashing. "You want to meet them face-to-face?" she asked coldly. "Fine. Follow me." With that, she spun on her heel and marched out the door. Wordlessly, Cho threw the photograph on the couch and followed.

…

The night was nearly pitch black, but Lana seemed to know exactly where she was going. Every once and a while the moon broke through the clouds, saving Cho from a few rather embarrassing falls.

She was so intent on watching the ground that she really was not paying attention to where Lana was leading her. Finally her sister halted and looked at her rather violently. "Well, here we are," she said. "Here are good old Mom and Dad."

Every ounce of hurt and anger drained away when Cho looked down and saw a double gravestone at her feet. Laura and Lewis Lang – Liza Lang's parents – where buried right where she stood. She opened her mouth a few times, unable to speak. "They're…"

"Dead," Lana said stoically. She pointed to the date. "October 16, 1989. The day of the meteor shower."

"What meteor shower?" Cho asked softly.

Lana looked up at her, genuine surprise in her eyes. "There was a massive meteor shower that hit Smallville just before I turned three. Mom and Dad left me with Nell while they went to the Homecoming game." Lana's voice had grown far away and soft. "I was wearing your fairy princess costume. They pulled up across the street and waved to me." Tears sparkled in Lana's eyes as she gazed at the gravestone. "A meteor slammed into their car right in front of me. They were both killed instantly."

"I don't know what to say," Cho whispered.

Lana took a shaky breath. "Nell held a triple funeral, for them and for you."

A little flare of anger rose in Cho's throat. "She hated me so much that she declared me dead?"

"We thought you were dead!" Lana cried. "Liza, or Cho, or whoever you are, our parents never gave you away!"

"And how exactly did I end up in England?" Cho asked.

Lana's eyes filled with pity. "You really don't remember, do you?" She put a hand on Cho's shoulder. "You were kidnapped out of your bedroom two months before I was born."

Cho shook her head and pulled away. "You're lying."

"You were just about to turn seven," Lana insisted.

"No."

"It's true."

Cho started to cry. "How would you know? You weren't even born!"

Lana grabbed her hand and pulled her back to the tombstone. "Because Mom and Dad never gave up the idea that you were alive! They told me about you every day from the day I was born until the day they died! They always thought you'd be found or come home one day." Another tear slipped down her cheek. "They were right."

Cho did not know what to say, so she did not say anything. Her early memories were still coming back to her, so what Lana said could be true. Then Lana looked at her so painfully that it was clear she was laying her heart out as she said, "When I was little, my best friend died in front of my eyes because I wasn't brave enough to rescue her from drowning. I let another of my friends get hit by a car. My boyfriend just left to join the marines and I may never see him again! But _none_ of that hurts as much as the fact that I lost my big sister before I even got a chance to know her."

Cho choked back a sob. "Lana…"

"Liza, don't leave me again," Lana whispered.

The rest of Cho's strength crumbled as she collapsed in Lana's arms. The sisters sank to the ground beside their parents' graves, hugging each other and crying.

…

Just as the sun broke over the cornfields the next morning, the future got a whole lot darker for the town of Smallville. Just outside the gates of the Luthor mansion, Bellatrix Lestrange and a handful of her loyal followers appeared out of nowhere with a loud pop. Crabbe and Goyle looked up at the mansion numbly. "Big place," Crabbe said. Malfoy rolled his eyes.

But Bellatrix just smiled. "Shipped all the way over one by one to the cornfield from Scotland. But the rich man's a Muggle. Too bad, he could have helped us."

"So why are we here then?" Goyle asked.

Bellatrix nodded toward the mansion. "Because his son was the first person little Liza Lang went to when she got to town."

Malfoy frowned. "Who's Liza Lang?"

Bellatrix sighed impatiently. "Really Draco, I though you of all people would be able to keep up." Draco blushed deeply. "Your schoolmate Cho Chang is actually Liza Lang, the lost heir of the French countess Isabelle Theroux."

"Oh," Malfoy mumbled, embarrassed.

Bellatrix did not seem fazed, though. Merrily, she led the other Death Eaters toward the gate. "Let's go visit Mr. Alexander Luthor and see exactly why he was our friend's first stop."

The gate was only guarded by one man. "_Imperio_," Bellatrix said lazily. The man's eyes glazed over. "Take us to Alexander." He nodded and led them docilely into the mansion.

The master of the house was asleep. The watchman led Bellatrix and the others right into his bedroom. "That's all," Bellatrix said. "Go back to your post." The watchman nodded and left without another word.

Bellatrix leaned over the young man's sleeping form and grinned sweetly. "Wakey wakey!"

He sat up with a start and a gasp. It took a minute before he got his bearings, then looked at Bellatrix and snapped, "Who are you?"

"A friend, if you're good," Bellatrix replied.

"Like hell," he replied. He threw off the black and climbed out of bed clad only in pajama pants. "What are you doing in my bedroom at the crack of dawn?"

"We've come looking for your friend," Bellatrix replied. "Miss Lang?"

Lex's eyes narrowed. "What do you want with Lana?"

She laughed and Lex cringed at the sound. "Not the little girl! The other Lang. Or you might know her as Cho Chang?"

Lex's expression changed just enough. "I don't know anyone by that name."

"What I don't understand," Bellatrix said as she sauntered around the bed, "is why she came to you first. I expected her to go straight to Kal-El."

Lex was backing as far into the corner as he could. "Who?"

Her eyes lit up and she looked suddenly even more dangerous. "You know everyone in the cornfield, young Lex. Maybe you can help me find the man I'm looking for."

Shifting uncomfortably, Lex asked, "How would I know this person?"

"He is stronger than other men. And faster and more extraordinary than any wizard alive."

It was then that Lex saw the wand in her hand. He swallowed nervously. "I don't know anyone like that."

She leveled her wand at his chest. "Think very, very hard."

Suddenly an impossible thought occurred to him. There was someone who seemed more extraordinary than any normal person. Who seemed always to be keeping secrets. But Clark Kent was his friend and Lex could not bring himself to send these obviously unbalanced and dangerous people after him just to save himself. "I don't know anyone," he repeated, his jaw set.

"You're lying," she sang. Before Lex could react, she had muttered "_Imperio_!" and a heavy fog descended over him. "Now." Bellaxtrix's voice was clear through the haze. "Who is Kal-El?"

'Just tell her,' a voice told Lex. 'Tell her how strange Clark is. You know it's true. What's the harm?'

_Clark is my friend_.

'Just tell her and this will al be over. I promise.'

_I can't send them after Clark. They'll kill him!_

'Better than killing you.'

_No._

'Just tell her.'

_No!_

'Tell her!'

"NO!" Lex shouted and the fog lifted.

Bellatrix and the others stared at him, aghast. She pointed her wand at his heart and cried angrily, "_Crucio_!"

Lex fell immediately screaming to the floor. Bellatrix smiled coldly as more Cruciatus curses hit Lex from the wands of her followers. After moments of agonized cries, a silence fell as Lex sagged unconscious on the floor beside his bed. With a look of disgust, Bellatrix turned and swept from the room.

…

Clark Kent drove a wooden fence post into the ground as the sun cleared the cornfields. Smiling at the extra light, he picked up another post and slammed it in next to the previous one.

A strange flash caught his eye on the horizon in the direction of the Luthor mansion. Squinting against the sun, Clark saw it again – a red flash that flickered and died before starting up again. He cast a doubtful eye back at the house, as the post in his hand, and finally back toward the mansion before dropping the wooden beam and taking off toward Lex's home.

He was there in a matter of seconds. No one stopped him as he raced into the castle. "Lex!" he called. "Lex?"

One of Lex's security guards rounded a corner. "Here a little early, aren't you, Mr. Kent?" he asked wryly.

"Where's Lex?" Clark asked.

He cocked an eyebrow. "Asleep, Mr. Kent. The sun's barely up."

"Are you sure?"

Throwing his hands up in the air, the guard said, "Go check if you like. I don't know why Mr. Luthor tolerates your strange behavior."

Clark frowned, but thanked him and ran up the stairs. "Lex?" he called again. He did not care if he woke Lex up. There was a bad feeling about the house.

The door to Lex's bedroom was slightly ajar. Clark pushed it open slowly. "Lex?"

The bed was empty. "Lex, are you here?" Clark asked. Cautiously, he walked around the bed. Then he gasped and dropped down beside Lex's body. "Lex? Oh God. Lex!" he shouted and shook Lex's shoulders. Nothing happened. He sank down beside him, desperately calling for him to wake up, with no idea what to do next.


	9. Chapter Eight

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** Okay. Let me make this perfectly clear. I am **NOT** following the events, deaths, or character life paths of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. It would screw up a lot of this story and eliminate several characters. I am not happy with some of the deaths in that book, so at least for this fic, I am choosing to ignore them.

So that means this is, from now on, AU. Thanks to Lauren for beta-ing!

**DISCLAIMER** If you recognize the names, I don't own them.

Lex's eyes flew open and he screamed. "Lex!" Clark shouted and grabbed his shoulders. "It's okay! Calm down!"

He looked around the bedroom wildly, then sagged a bit and dropped his head in his hands. "Clark, thank God you're here!"

"I found you unconscious on the floor," Clark said worriedly. "What happened?"

"Something really strange is going on," Lex answered. "Last night I met this girl sneaking around the mansion and when I questioned her, she told me that she'd come to Smallville looking for her real parents."

"Liza," Clark said softly.

Lex shook his head. "Her name was Cho Chang."

Clark shook his friend just slightly. "Lex, listen to me." Lex looked up. "Her real name is Liza. She was kidnapped from her bedroom when she was six years old. She's Lana's sister."

Lex paled. "Oh God. These people just attacked me; they were looking for Cho! Or, Liza. They think she's going to lead them to someone who's stronger and faster and more extraordinary than any man alive. Someone named Kal-El." A chill raced down Clark's spine as Lex grabbed his shoulder and said sincerely, "I didn't tell them about you!"

Clark suddenly felt cold. "What are you talking about?

But Lex didn't answer. Instead he just said, "Clark, they know who Cho's related to."

All thoughts of the security of his secret flew out the window as panic flooded him. "Lana!"

As he leapt to his feet, Lex called after him, "Wait Clark! I'll drive! These people aren't like other people! They're dangerous!" But by the time Lex had climbed up to see over his bed, Clark had already disappeared.

…

Cho and Lana walked slowly back toward their house. "You really don't remember growing up here?" Lana asked sleepily.

Cho shrugged. "I remember bits." She smiled. "I remember that fairy princess costume. Why?"

"I don't know." Lana wrapped her arm around her sister's waist and leaned her head against her shoulder. Cho put her arm around Lana's shoulders and smiled. "I was just wondering what Mom and Dad were like back then," Lana said. "You got to spend a lot more time with them than I did."

"The, uh, amnesia thing makes it hard," Cho said guiltily. She hated lying to Lana, but the magic thing was a somewhat heavy conversation that should wait until later. "They were very loving, though. And I couldn't wait for you to be born."

Lana looked up at her, smiling. "Really?"

"Mmhmm." Cho nodded. "I even made an early birthday wish that the baby would be a girl."

Lana giggled. "With the fairy princess wand?"

"Yeah."

She shook her head. "The last wish I granted with that wand came true too. One of my friend's parents wished for a baby. Not too long after, they adopted my friend Clark. I swear, it's like magic or something."

Cho laughed nervously. "When was that?"

Sobering, Lana replied. "The day of the meteor shower."

Cho tightened her hug. "I'm sorry."

Lana shrugged. "It was a long time ago. And now I have you back! Have you seen Nell yet?"

Laughing, Cho nodded. "I think I freaked her out. Hey, I saw that her last name is Potter?"

"Yes, it was our mother's maiden name, too."

'Oh Merlin,' Cho thought. 'Please no.' "We don't have any family in England," she asked fearfully. "Do we?"

Lana thought for a minute. "Not that I know of. A little French I think, but no English."

"Oh thank Merlin!"

Lana looked at her strangely, but before she could ask, a series of cracks drew their attention. Cho's eyes lit up and she cried, "Harry!"

Lana looked nervous as five people in outlandish clothes came running toward them, having seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Cho broke away from her and ran toward them.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, Bill, and Gabrielle were never so happy to see anyone before. "Cho!" Harry called happily. Hermione and Gabrielle ran forward and flung themselves at Cho in a fierce hug.

"Cho, you're alive!" Hermione sobbed. "We were so afraid!"

Harry, Ron, Bill, and Lana stood awkwardly on the sidelines. The boys decided it best to introduce themselves. Clark came racing onto the scene just in time to see a man in black robes advance on Lana while reaching into his pocket. With a fresh surge of speed, he ran for them and threw himself between them. "Stay away from her."

Lana looked confused. "Clark?"

"Are you okay?" he asked her urgently.

Cho disentangled herself from Hermione and Gabrielle and glared at him. "She's fine. Who are you?"

Clark took a threatening step toward her. "You aren't going to hurt Lana."

In a flash, Harry had his wand out and pointed it at Clark's chest. "Leave her alone."

Lana and Cho shared a look. Lana pulled on Clark's arm. "Clark, stop. It's okay."

Likewise, Cho pleaded with Harry, "Leave him alone!" Hermione and the other exchanged doubtful glances.

The motor of a silver Porche drew everyone's attention and Lex jumped out. "Clark!" he called, running over. He cast a wary look at Harry before saying, "It's all right, Clark. These aren't them."

Harry frowned. "Who are you?"

"This is Lex," Cho replied. "He's a friend. For Merlin's sake, Harry, put your wand away!" Harry slowly and reluctantly lowered his wand.

Clark cast a quick look at Lex. "Who was it you said attacked you?"

"Uh, a woman. Had long black hair and crazy eyes." He didn't notice that Harry and his friends were hanging onto his every word. "And she had this guy with her with really white blonde hair," Lex went on.

"Oh God Lex, are you okay?" Lana asked, worried.

Lex shrugged. "She tortured me until I passed out." He frowned. "But she didn't touch me. She said a couple of Latin words and first I felt like doing whatever she told me to do."

"Did you?" Harry asked urgently.

Lex looked at him disdainfully. "No. And I guess it made her mad because the next thing I know, it feels like my bones are on fire."

"_Crucio_," Cho murmured.

"Yeah!" Lex said. "Cho, do you want to explain what's going on?"

Cho and Lana looked at each other for a second, but Gabrielle stepped up first. "Have any of you ever heard of Countess Isabelle Theroux?" They all shook their heads. "She was a very powerful and evil witch in 17th century France."

Lana scoffed. "That's ridiculous. There's no such thing as witches."

Clark and Lex glanced at each other doubtfully. Cho cleared her throat, uncomfortable as the others stared at her. "Cho, you haven't told them?" Bill asked.

"I haven't been here very long," she mumbled.

"But Cho, they deserve to know!" Hermione said. "Especially if your friend has already been attacked!"

Lana took her sister's hand. "What's going on?" she asked fearfully.

Tears sprang to Cho's eyes. "Look, I've had a lot on my mind!" she said. "I just found out my parents are dead!"

Harry nodded sympathetically. "We know about the meteor shower. And we know about the kidnapping and the memory charm and everything."

"How?"

"Dumbledore left behind a memory," Ron said.

"We took it to the Salem Institute," Hermione added. "The school you were supposed to attend. Harry and their headmaster watched Dumbledore's memory of rescuing you."

Lex spoke up. "I thought you were adopted?"

Cho looked at Harry, who nodded encouragingly. "Lex, Lana, uh, Clark, there's something I should tell you."

Clark moved closer to Lana protectively. "Liza, it's okay!" Lana said. "You can tell me anything!"

"Liza?" Lex questioned. "Wait, so you're really…?"

Lana grinned. "This is my sister, Lex. She finally came home." She turned back to Cho. "And whatever it is, we'll deal with it."

"Okay." Cho took a deep breath. "Not to ask you to suspend disbelief or anything but I'm a witch."

"We are all witches and wizards here," Gabrielle said. "And you are both descended from the Countess Theroux. It is true, Lana."

"That's ridiculous," said Lex, sounding a whole lot more sure than he felt.

Harry sighed. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this." He pulled out his wand. "_Accio_ keys!" he said and Lex's car keys flew into Harry's waiting hand. Lex looked back and forth between his keys and empty hand. "You were hit by curses, Lex," Harry said. "You've got to know that's true." Numbly, Lex just nodded.


	10. Chapter Nine

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** Can you ever forgive me for such a long break without updates?? I'm sorry! But now this story should pretty much be back on track. I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

Remember, this is AU from what happened in Deathly Hallows. It follows the events of Half-Blood Prince, but not DH.

Thanks as always to my great beta Lauren!

**DISCLAIMER** Don't own anyone.

"Wait," Clark said. "I'm not sure I understand. You're Lana's long-lost, thought-to-be-dead older sister," he sad to Cho. She and Lana both nodded. "And you're all _magic_?" Harry and his friends also nodded.

Lana suddenly paled. "Wait. Liza, if you're a witch, then does that mean…?"

"You aren't a witch," Harry said. "But your sister was the first magical heir of Countess Theroux to be born since the Countess herself."

"That's why you were kidnapped, Cho," Ron added. "Crazy Death Eaters wanted to raise you to face Harry one day."

Cho whistled. "Wow. So I really was there." Her eyes opened wide. "Harry! Bellatrix Lestrange is alive!"

Clark and Lex looked at each other. "Who?" Clark asked.

Hermione gasped. "Dark hair and crazy eyes. She's the one who attacked Lex!"

Cho nodded grimly. Lex chuckled. "Bellatrix. Ouch. No wonder she's so angry."

"This isn't funny, Lex," Hermione said. "Bellatrix Lestrange is very, very dangerous."

Lex just looked at her wryly. "Already figured that one out actually." Hermione blushed.

Clark stepped up and shook his head. "How is it that none of us have ever heard of wizards before?" he asked suspiciously.

"You have actually," Bill replied.

Lana looked confused. "I don't understand."

"Ever heard of Merlin?" Cho asked. "Or Rasputin? Or the Oracle at Delphi?"

"Yeah," Lana said slowly.

"All wizards," Cho told her. "Muggles make up those wild stories about them to explain the things they see."

"What's a muggle?" Lex asked.

Harry nodded to them all. "Non-magic people. You all are muggles." He gazed intently at Clark for a minute. "Actually…"

Flustered, Clark asked, "So what's the big deal about this Bellatrix? How dangerous are we talking?"

Harry continued to look at him strangely and answered, "She was the Dark Lord's most trusted servant. We thought she was dead."

With a snort, Lex said, "Good call."

"Look," Harry said, just a little impatiently. "Bellatrix Lestrange is very dangerous. Staying away from her is the first priority."

"Plus she's looking for you," Clark told Cho.

"What?" Hermione, Harry, and Lana demanded.

Lex nodded. "She came after me looking for you. She knew somehow that I was the first person you saw."

Cho's blood chilled. "She's following me. She must have let me escape. Oh no, I've led her straight here!" Lana hugged her protectively.

Harry sighed. "Cho, we have to get out of here. Bellatrix could find us at any minute."

Lana threw herself in front of her sister. "No! You cannot take Liza away from me!"

"Her name is Cho," Ron said.

"Not to me," Lana snapped back.

"Hey!" Lex shouted. "We have bigger things to worry about than what her name is!"

They all stood in embarrassed silence for a minute before Bill suggested, "Hiding?"

Gabrielle snorted. "I have such a brave brother-in-law."

"Now is not the time for bravery, Gabrielle," Bill retorted hotly. "What would you like to do instead?"

Gabrielle glared at him, but Harry squeezed her hand and shook his head. "Hiding is okay for now. Just enough time to regroup, maybe contact Remus."

"Who's Remus?" Clark asked suspiciously.

"Remus Lupin, the leader of the Order of the Phoenix," Harry explained to three blank faces. "Think of us as sort of the Rebel Alliance."

Comprehension dawned on Lex and Clark. Lana smiled and nodded. Hermion giggled. Ron frowned. "What are you talking about, mate?" he asked. "What rebels?" Harry just laughed and waved him off.

"Alright fine," Lex said. "So we hide. Where exactly do you propose we go?"

He was met with silence. "I suppose we could go to the farm," Clark said reluctantly.

Cho shook her head. "She tracked me to Lex's mansion. Lana's house…" She paused. "Our house was my next stop."

"And your farm is right next door," Lana pointed out. Suddenly her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh my God, what about Nell?"

Panic swept over Cho and she wrung her hands. "We have to get her out of here, now. Bellatrix will torture her!"

Lex already had his cell phone out. "I'll call for a safe house for her. It'll only take a minute."

But Clark put a hand on Lex's arm. "Lex, I don't think we have time," he said, looking at the grave faces of the witches and wizards.

"I'll tell Nell to stay with her new boyfriend," Lana suggested. "You think she'll be safe there?"

Cho nodded. "Bellatrix is following me, not my extended family." Her face suddenly screwed up in disgust. "Aunt Nell has a boyfriend?" Despite the gravity of the situation, Lana giggled. Ron and Bill shared a brotherly moment of eye rolling.

Lana turned from the group and ran the short distance to her house. Harry turned to his friends. "So how do you propose we hide from Bellatrix?" he asked. "The woman's insane, but she'll find us if she wants to."

Hermione shook her head. "No, I don't think so. Don't you feel it, Harry? There's some kind of weird energy all around us. It's definitely disturbing my magic, at least."

Lex murmured, "The meteor rocks." Clark glanced sidelong at him.

"But she tracked me to the mansion," Cho reminded them. "What's to stop her from just continuing to follow me?"

Bill looked thoughtful. "Did you Apparate anywhere near Lex's mansion? Into it? Away from it?"

"Yeah," Cho said slowly. "When I left, I Apparated. Why?"

"What's Apparating?" Lex broke in.

The others ignored him. "She's tracking your Apparation patterns," Bill told Cho.

Cho looked at him blankly. "When you Apparate, the air that replaces you has a different feeling," Hermione explained. "The magic is thinner, kind of like a magical black hole."

Cho froze. "She's follow my Apparating," she repeated.

Hermione nodded. "So if you Apparated here next, Bellatrix won't be far behind."

"But I didn't," Cho said, shaking her head. "Lex sent me to see some friends of his first."

Clark's blood ran cold. "Mom and Dad!" He turned to run, remembering at the last second just how many pairs of eyes were watching him. "I have to warn them!"

"We don't have time, Clark," Lex said just as Lana returned. "We've got to get out of here."

"Go then," Clark said. "I'll find you."

The group shared a glance and nodded. As they turned to leave, Lana returned and threw her arms around Clark. "Be careful."

He smiled just a little. "I will. I promise."

Then they took off toward the cornfields. Once they were safely out of sight, Clark raced for home.

…

"Mom! Dad!" Clark cried as he reached his house. "Where are you?"

'Oh God,' he thought desperately. 'It's too late.'

Unconsciously he let his eyesight shift into its X-ray mode and was relieved to see the physical forms of both of his parents working in the barn. He ran for the large red building and threw open the doors.

Jonathan and Martha were alarmed to say the least when they saw their son's face. "Clark?" Jonathan asked, confused.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Martha touched Clark's arm, concerned.

"Mom, Dad, you have to get out of here," Clark answered urgently. "Right now. As soon as possible!"

His parents shared a troubled look. "Son, what's going on?" Jonathan asked.

"No time to explain!" Clark said. His parents grew frightened at the panic that seeped into his voice. "We have to leave now!"

Honestly, Clark had no idea where his parents should go. If they took too long figuring it out, this Bellatrix would catch them all. But something the girl, Hermione, had said about the meteor rocks affecting her magic gave him an idea. "Follow me," he said. Jonathan and Martha didn't hesitate to drop what they were doing and comply.

Clark led them across the backyard and threw open the doors to the storm cellar. If he was right, the residual force of his spaceship would cause the same disturbance as the meteor rocks and hide his parents. He momentarily wished for the hundredth time that the ship was safe and sound in the storm cellar as it had been before the tornado. "Get in!" he said.

His mother hesitantly started down the stairs, but his father was not so easily convinced. "Clark, tell me what's going on," Jonathan demanded.

"Dad, please!" Clark begged, choked up. "Please just lock yourself in the storm cellar. I'll be back for you!"

Jonathan looked into his son's pleading eyes and finally nodded. "Okay."

"Thank you!" The rusty slide of the bolt lock eased Clark's mind just enough and he took off at top sped in the direction he had last seen Lana and the others go.

…  
Bellatrix, Draco Malfoy, and the handful of other Death Eaters in Smallville appeared with a pop on the Kents' porch. "Hello?" she called as she burst through the front door. "Come out and play, Kal-El!"

They scoured the house, but Bellatrix pouted when they found no one. "We must have waited too long," Pansy Parkinson said. She immediately paid for her remark with a _Crucio_ from her Lady. No one dared comment further.

"We should be able to find Liza Lang and Kal-El," Draco offered hesitantly. "I think that maybe something's wrong."

Bellatrix turned her scalding glare on her right hand man, but said nothing. Draco let out a small sigh of relief when she turned to stare at the barn. Finally she headed for the door. "We will go to the Lang house."

…

A tall uniformed man dropped an olive green duffel bag on the Lang front porch and knocked on the door. "Hello?" he called. "Lana?" He was about to check inside, as he got no answer, when he heard a silky voice behind him.

"Lana isn't home," the dark-haired woman said. Her voice sounded scarily like a cat. "But who are you?"

"Whitney Fordman," he replied suspiciously. "I'm Lana's boyfriend. Who are you?"

She shrugged. Whitney was suddenly aware of a handful of others behind the strange lady. "I'm a friend of your girlfriend's sister, Liza."

Whitney narrowed his eyes. "Liza's dead."

"Not as dead as you think. In fact, Liza and Lana are together right now."

"Oh yeah?" Whitney countered. "Then where are they?"

Bellatrix grinned inwardly and sighed outwardly. "I don't know," she said. "Liza asked me to meet her here, saying that Lana was upset and she wasn't sure what to do. When I got here, I found them both gone."

Whitney paled. "Lana's upset?"

Bellatrix nodded miserably. Behind her, Draco had to restrain himself. He never knew that his Lady was such a talented actress.

"I have to find her," Whitney said.

"But I don't know where they went!" Bellatrix replied.

Whitney had already jumped off the porch, his duffel bag forgotten. "I know where Lana would go. Come on!"

Bellatrix grinned and followed. 'Brilliant,' Draco thought as they went. 'Simply brilliant.'


	11. Chapter Ten

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** Hope you enjoy – remember again, this story does **NOT** follow Deathly Hallows. So in this story, Snape is MIA and still presumed a bad guy. Also, I know that Whitney never came back to Smallville, but hey, this is fan fiction.

As always, a big thank you to my endlessly patient and tireless beta Lauren!

**DISCLAIMER** Still don't own anyone.

Clark came to a halt in front of a dark cave opening. He entered cautiously, not daring to call out. Slowly he crept through the dark, finally resorting to his X-ray vision to located Lex, Lana, and the others around the next corner. "Hey guys," he said as they came into view.

Lana leapt to her feet and ran to his side. "Clark, I'm so glad you're here!" she said as she threw her arms around him. Clark smiled as he held her close for a minute. Then she pulled away, blushing. "How'd you find us?"

"Uh, I just went the same way you did," he replied lamely. "How'd you find this place?"

"I used to come here all the time," Lana replied shyly. "When I was little. You know, when I wanted to be alone."

Clark was investigating the contours of the cave. He was particularly drawn to a passage way at the back. "What's back there?" he asked. Harry and Lex joined him in peering into the darkness.

Lana shrugged. "Don't know. I've never really explored them."

Harry put a hand on Clark's shoulder, "Now isn't the time to do it, either. Bellatrix could be anywhere."

Clark regarded the older wizard begrudgingly for a moment before nodding and joining the rest of the group. Lana retreated into a corner and curled up against the wall with her knees at her chest. Lex approached her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded unconvincingly and tried to smile. "I'm fine. Just need to kind of sort out my head."

Lex smiled gently. "Alright." He led Clark away to where he could keep the latter from hovering over Lana, no matter how good his intentions were.

Harry gestured to Lana and asked Cho quietly, "So she's your sister?" Cho nodded without replying. "Must be nice," Harry continued offhandedly. "I'd be thrilled if I ever found out I had a sibling."

Cho looked at him, seeming to see him for the first time since they ran from the Lang house. "Oh Harry, I'm sorry. I must seem so horrible to you, being mad at my parents for dying."

Harry blinked, taken aback, but just patted her hand. "Nope. Do you have any idea how many nights I swore to myself that I hated my mum and dad while I lived with the Dursleys? They told me that they died in a car crash. It was easy to hate them for that." Cho nodded silently. Harry gave her a gentle push. "You know, I bet Lana is pretty freaked out. Maybe you should go talk to her."

She thought about it for a minute and decided that maybe Harry was right. Her parents ('My adoptive parents,' Cho thought begrudgingly) were both magic. It was simply part of life for her. But for Lana to suddenly have a long-lost sister thrust upon her and then find out on top of that that she's a _witch_ must be throwing her for some loop. She sat beside her sister. "Mind if I join you?" she asked.

Lana shook her head. "No," she said quietly.

They didn't talk for a minute. "I know this is all really shocking for you," Cho finally said.

Lana laughed a little. "You might say that." After another quiet moment, she asked, "What happened to your friend? The one with the long hair?"

"Bill?" Cho asked.

"Yeah. He looks like he was on the wrong end of a saber-toothed tiger or something."

Cho often tried not to think about that awful night, but she couldn't lie. "It was a werewolf."

"A werewolf?" Lana repeated. Cho nodded. "So werewolves are real," Lana muttered, trying to make sense of it.

"And vampires," Cho added. "And Inferi." Upon Lana's blank look, she clarified, "Zombies. And witches and wizards." She let Lana absorb it all, unsettled by her sister's strange and fearful look. "I know it's a lot."

"Everything you spend your entire childhood trying to convince yourself is just your imagination, it's all real," Lana finally answered. She allowed herself a small laugh. "What about aliens?"

Clark, who had been inadvertently listening, raised his head a fraction of an inch, determined to look uninterested.

Cho shrugged. "I don't know."

"I mean, we've had some weird stuff happen in Smallville, but we've never had a werewolf." Lana screwed up her face. "I don't think."

"What do you mean?" Cho asked.

"I told you about the meteor shower," Lana said. "The meteors were made of this strange green rock that practically blanketed the town. It sort of...mutated people."

Ron, Hermione, and Harry were now nonchalantly listening to the conversation, as still was Clark. "Mutated?" Cho repeated.

Lana nodded. "Sounds crazy, but it's true. Greg Arkin became a giant bug, Tina Greer could morph her bones, Jodi Melville turned into a fat-sucking monster to lose weight, Eric Summers got super-strength and speed overnight then lost it almost immediately, Sasha Woodman could control bees…" Lana ticked off on her fingers as she went. She grinned sheepishly. "I even got visions."

"Wow." Cho paused. At her sudden glance, Harry, Hermion, Ron, Bill, and Gabrielle all turned their gazes to various parts of the cave walls. Clark grinned into his hand.

Cho dropped her voice out of eavesdropping range. "So, Lana, tell me about your friends over there."

"Lex and Clark?" Lana asked. Cho nodded. Lana shrugged. "Clark is…Clark. He's naïve sometimes and secretive about _everything_." She smiled softly. "But he's always there when you need him. And he can be very sweet."

Cho had to grin. Her little sister might very possibly be falling in love. And judging by his earlier behavior, the farm boy definitely returned the sentiment. She glanced toward him, only to lock eyes with the bald man beside him. "And Lex?" she asked.

Lana smirked at the staring contest between Lex and Cho. "Lex is rich, as you know since you saw his mansion. And a lot of people in Smallville hate him."

"You and Clark don't."

"Clark and I have gotten to know the real Lex. Most people haven't," Lana replied. "But he's also a good friend. I bet he's just about your age," she finished slyly. Cho tore her eyes away from Lex enough to look at Lana, flustered. Lana just giggled and changed the subject. "What about your friends? Tell me about them."

"Well Harry, Ron, and Hermione have been inseparable since first year. Then Hermione and Ron finally got together after sixth year. Not long after, Harry began dating Gabrielle, who is Fleur's sister, who is Bill's wife, who is Ron's brother."

Lana blinked, shook her head, and just said, "What?"

Cho laughed, startling everyone in the cave. "We all went to school together," she said simply. "Ron and Bill, brothers. Ron and Hermione and Harry and Gabrielle, couples."

"And where do you fit in?"

"I'm a friend. And an Order member."

Lana got very quiet. "So, uh," she started uncertainly. "Is Bill a werewolf now too?" Lana asked. "Isn't that how it works?"

Cho smiled a little. "You can ask him yourself if you want." She sobered. "Actually, I think it would be good if the three of you heard about what we're actually up against."

She stood up and helped Lana to her feet. Lex and Clark got up and followed them curiously to where Harry, Gabrielle, Ron, Hermione, and Bill sat restlessly playing with their wands. "Harry," Cho said. "I think we should tell them what we're really facing."

Harry frowned. "What do you mean?"

Preparing herself for the pain that would inevitably come, Cho said, "We need to tell them about the war. About Voldemort and Dumbledore and all of it. Otherwise, we're just leading them to die."

Lex and Lana looked fairly alarmed at her words. Ron and Hermione looked at Harry and Bill at the mention of Dumbledore's name. The night that he was killed had changed both men's lives forever. But Harry just nodded and said, "All right." He took a deep breath and pushed up the bangs of his unruly black hair. "Do you see this scar?" he asked, pointing to a mark shaped like a lightening bolt on his forehead. They nodded. "When I was a baby, my family was attacked by a powerful Dark wizard known as Voldemort."

Ron and Gabrielle shuddered. Lana frowned. Before she could ask though, Harry interrupted, "For years no one dared say his name. He cast one of the three Unforgivable curses, the killing curse, to murder my parents. But when he turned on me, the curse reflected off of me and destroyed him instead. All I was left with was the scar."

"That's horrible!" Lana said, tears springing to her eyes.

Harry smiled warmly at her, knowing that he did not have to say anything. He turned to Lex. "The other two Unforgivables besides _Avada Kedavra_ are _Imperio_ and _Crucio_, the two that Bellatrix Lestrange cast on you. _Crucio_ causes extreme pain. _Imperio_ is a form of mind control."

Lex shifted uneasily. "But I didn't tell her anything."

"Some people can resist," Cho broke in with a smile. "Very strong minded people." Lex smiled back at her.

Harry ignored them and continued. "Voldemort had hundreds of followers. Our Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, was the only wizard Voldemort feared. He and a handful of my parents' old friends were the closest thing to a family I ever had."

The sorrowful look in Harry's eyes nearly broke Lana's heart. "What happened?" she asked softly.

"Sirius, my Godfather, died trying to protect me. Bellatrix was the one who killed him. And Dumbledore was killed by a vile murderous traitor."

Ron gently put a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, mate, not now. It's not the time."

Nodding, Harry finished quickly and stoically. "There was a final battle. I won. Voldemort died. And now Bellatrix is trying to achieve the same goal as Voldemort."

"What is…?" Clark prompted.

"Immortality," Ron replied begrudgingly.

Lex whistled. "Lofty goal. Something my father has been chasing after with little success."

Gabrielle snorted. "No mere muggle could even hope to approach the secrets of immortality."

Lex glared at her. Hermione jumped between them. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that for some reason Bellatrix is rather fixated on Cho and her life here in Smallville as Liza Lang. We need to stay out of her way until we figure out why and we can't afford to Apparate out of here."

"What's Apparate?" Lex asked.

"Why can't you?" Clark asked.

"Apparating is disappearing in one place and reappearing in another," Bill replied.

"And we can't do it because a, you three can't Apparate," Hermione answered. "And b, Bellatrix is following Apparating points to track Cho. And the rest of us if we give her the chance."

Harry stood up abruptly. "So we stay put. If this place is as unknown as Lana says, no one should find us."

"Lana!"

A voice rang through the cave and Harry sent Lana a sharp glare. Cho threw Harry one of her own. A blonde man in uniform ran into the cave chamber and swept a very surprised Lana into a hug.

"Whitney?" she asked, shocked. "What are you doing here? What are you doing home?"

"I just got out of basic," he replied. "I don't ship out for another week. Are you okay?"

Lana looked doubtfully around her. "Whitney, how did you find me here?"

"Your sister's friends are looking for her. You never told me Liza was alive!"

But Lana wasn't listening. Her blood had gone cold. "My sister's friend?"

"Yeah, she – "

"_Avada Kedavra_."

A flash of green light cut Whitney's words short as his body fell lifeless to the ground. Lana screamed, but Cho held her back from running to him. Bellatrix and her followers blocked the cave entrace. "Hello again, Liza," she sneered. "So nice to see you."


	12. Chapter Eleven

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** This story takes place before the episode "Rosetta," so I had to come up with some way of making Clark learn that his birth name was Kal-El. Think of it as seeing your life flash before your eyes before you die. Except of course, being Superman, _Avada Kedavra_ doesn't kill him. And thanks for sticking with me during my 2 ½ month hiatus – I'm back now!

Since the advent of the Review Reply feature, I try not to reply to individual reviewers here in chapters, but when the reviewer stays anonymous, I can't do it that way. So in response to "Mister," here are some answers hopefully to your questions.

First, the timeline. If you go by the dates in both canons, Harry was born in 1980 (the date is given in Chamber of Secrets as 1992 – 1993, the year he turns twelve) and Cho is a year older than him, making her born in 1979. Lana was born in 1986, making her three years old when the meteor shower came in 1989. So yes, Cho is seven years older than Lana. Lex was nine when the meteor shower hit, making him the same age as Harry.

In regards to Cho's seemingly scattered disposition, yes she was in Ravenclaw, but I would hardly call her actions in Order of the Phoenix level-headed. Everything Harry does turns her overly emotional. Yes, she is older here, but she has just found out that Dumbledore, the man who she had once trusted with her life, betrayed her. She doesn't know what to think, hence the adoption-abandonment-kidnapped confusion. The Kents are too freaked out to help her before she runs away again. She's supposed to be dead, remember?

Finally, you are right about Voldemort not being around when Clark gets there. That's my error. But he was regaining strength for years, so it is possible that he was somehow made aware of it. And anyway, this is fanfiction.

Thanks as always to my incredibly patient beta Lauren. And as one final note, remember that this story does **not** follow Deathly Hallows.

**DISCLAIMER** I don't own anyone.

"Bellatrix," Cho whispered. She still held Lana in her arms, who was nearly hysterical. "What do you want from me?"

Bellatrix laughed and Harry and the others cringed. "Why my dear Liza – "

"My name is Cho!"

Bellatrix flicked her wrist and Cho was hit by Goyle's _Crucio_. Lana took the opportunity to fling herself at Whitney's body, but Clark ran to hold her back just in time. Instead she buried her face in his chest and sobbed. Clark held her and kept a hand by her face to keep her from staring at Whitney.

"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," Bellaxtrix said haughtily, "I don't want you at all, Liza my dear." She leered at Lex and Clark. "I just want to meet your new friends."

Cho froze as she saw Lex stand in front of Harry and the others. "No," she whispered, shaking her head.

"What do you want from us?" Lex asked.

Bellatrix cocked an eyebrow. "Oh little Luthor, you know what I want!" She stepped closer to him. "Or should I say who?"

Clark let go of Lana. "Kal-El," he whispered. "Leave him alone!" he shouted.

"Clark, no!" Cho said. "You don't know what she's capable of!" Clark glared at her.

"She's right, you know," Bellatrix purred. "I can be very, very dangerous. But lucky for you, you aren't the one I'm looking for." Then her wand was out and pointed at Clark's chest. "Or maybe unlucky. _Avada Kedavra_!"

Clark knew that he couldn't move or the curse would hit Lana, who had moved behind him. She was screaming, but he was only dimly aware of it. He did not know what the Killing Curse would do to him, but he knew what it would do to her.

The pain that spread through his chest as the curse hit was unlike anything he had ever felt from meteor rocks. Lex and Lana both cried out, but Clark was experiencing something very strange and barely heard them.

A vision blossomed before his eyes, unfolding into stars and planets and a giant red sun. A voice spoke in his ear. "You are the last son of Krypton, Kal-El. Make us proud."

'It's me,' he thought as he hit the ground, unable to move. 'Bellatrix is looking for me.' And then everything went black.

…

"Clark!" Lana sobbed as Clark's body fell in front of her. He landed next to Whitney and didn't move again. "Oh God, oh God, no!"

Cho wrapped her little sister in her arms as tears gathered in her eyes. Both of the men Lana had loved were dead. Her voice cracked as she spat at Bellatrix, "You bitch! Just leave us alone!"

Harry stepped up. "Just take me and be done with it!" he cried. "End this!"

With a shake of her head and a cluck of her tongue, Bellatrix just said, "Not everything is about you, Potter."

Meanwhile, Bill and Hermione had taken Ron, Gabrielle, and Lex toward the dark fissure in the back of the cave wall. They froze when Bellatrix smiled coldly at Lex. "Today, it's about him."

Cho's heart sank and desperately she cried, "Run!"

Hermione grabbed Harry while Bill gathered the others and took off into the blackness behind them. It took all of Cho's strength to carry Lana away. Bellatrix just grinned before she and her followers Disapparated.

…

"Quick!" Hermione cried. "Into the cornfields!"

Cho carried Lana cradled in her arms, tears blurring her vision. Lana was shaking with sobs and Cho tightened her grip as they ran. Finally, somewhere in the middle of the cornstalks, the group came to a skidding halt, clustered in a circle and gasping for breath.

"Did we lose them?" asked Lex.

Harry grimly shook his head. "I doubt it."

Lex absorbed his words and nodded. Harry grabbed his shoulder as Lex stumbled, a blank look on his face. He looked up at Harry with lost eyes. "Where's Clark?"

Harry swallowed the lump in his throat and replied as gently as possible, "Clark's dead, Lex."

Lex's eyes glazed a little and more of his weight fell onto Harry. Harry took a deep breath and scanned the corn stalks around them. Ron was at his left shoulder. "We can't stop, Harry. She'll find us."

Panting, Harry nodded. "I know." He glanced at Lex and then at Lana still sobbing in her sister's arms. "We need to get them out."

"Well where – "

Ron froze in the middle of his sentence as thunderous cracks startled them from just beyond the clearing. Almost as though in some kind of twisted slow motion, Bellatrix emerged in front of Harry and Lex.

Lex blinked and seemed to return to his senses. "You killed Clark," he said.

Bellatrix broke into a wide smile. Lex shakily stood his ground as she came toward him. "You," she purred. "You're the one we're looking for."

Lana, Cho, and the rest of the group looked at Lex, wide-eyed. Lex looked at them, then back at Bellatrix. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"Come, come, little alien, you can't hide from me. You repelled the Imperius curse. You seem to be the black sheep of a rich and powerful family. How can you not be the creature that fell from the sky?"

"You little lapdog Draco can resist _Imperio_ and he's from a rich and powerful family too," Ron snapped. "You don't think he's an alien, do you?"

Bellatrix lazily motioned to Draco behind her, who leveled his wand. "_Crucio!_" he murmured, grinning. Ron fell to the ground screaming.

Lex shuddered. "Look, lady, I don't know who you think I am, but you've got it all wrong!"

"I think not, little Kal-El."

"What?" he sputtered. "Who's Kal-El? You're insane!"

"Gee, you're just now figuring that out?" Ron managed to say before screaming again as another red bolt hit him from Goyle's wand.

Hermione couldn't take it anymore and dropped to Ron's side. "Stop it!" she cried. "You're killing him!"

Bellatrix laughed. "Once Kal-El gives himself over to me, I will let the Weasley go."

Hermione, Bill, Harry, and Gabrielle all turned to Lex. "Do something!" Hermione pleaded.

"I'm not him!" he said desperately. "I swear! What do you want me to do?"

Cho had finally set Lana down, but was still holding the girl up. "What's she going to do to Lex?" Lana whispered fearfully.

Cho blinked back tears. "She's completely crazy. She could kill him if she wanted to."

Lana buried her head in Cho's shoulder as Bellatrix pulled out her wand. "I'm not going to ask you again. Come with me or your friends all die." Lex's eyes filled with fear as she pointed the wand at his heart.

…

Clark blinked woozily and sat up. "What the Hell was that?" he asked groggily. There was no answer. He looked around. "Hello? Where is everyone? Lana? Lex? Uh, Harry?" he called, but got no reply. He put his hand to his forehead and tried to shake off the heavy blanket-like feeling that seemed to envelop him.

He remembered the woman with the dark hair holding a wand out toward him. She said something strange and then a bright green curse hit him square in the chest. It was pain unlike anything he'd felt before. Suddenly it occurred to him that the others were in danger too. That woman must have taken them after he'd been knocked out. He struggled to stand.

Sharp pains assaulted him from where the curse had hit. He gasped and doubled over. It was felt like he had a particularly large meteor rock strapped to his chest.

The others needed him. He had to get to them, but the pain was so intense that he wasn't sure he could make it. 'Lana's out there,' he thought.

He tried not to look at Whitney's body as he passed. After a second thought, he turned and painfully leaned down to close the boy's blank, staring eyes. Then he summoned every last ounce of strength and ran for the cornfields.

…

Lex tried to ward off Bellatrix with his hands outstretched, although he knew that it would do him no good. "Look, lady, I know you think I'm an alien or your lost savior or something, but I swear to you I'm just human!"

She sniffed. "No mere human would be able to resist my Imperius curse."

To everyone's surprise, Lex laughed dryly. "You think I'm an alien because you're losing your touch? You're kidding."

That made Bellatrix angry. "How dare you!" The look of ugly hatred melted into sick amusement. "I'll prove to everyone that you are Kal-El." With her wand aimed, she shouted, "_Avada Kedavra_!"

The bolt of green energy hurtled through the air toward Lex, faster than he could move out of its way. Cho screamed and Lana sobbed as she fell to the ground. The others watched in silent horror.

No one saw the blur as Clark sped onto the scene. He threw himself in front of Lex. He screamed in pain as the curse seared his hand and cradled it against his chest. When he finally looked up, he saw everyone staring at him in shock, friend or enemy alike.

"Clark?" Lana whispered.

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes dangerously. "You're alive," she hissed. "That's impossible! The only person to survive that curse was him," she spat and pointed a long finger at Harry. Harry glared defiantly back.

Gabrielle laughed coldly. "Yes, it was that whole motherly love thing. Nothing important."

"_Crucio_!" Bellatrix cried in frustration, as though she were dealing with an impudent pet. Harry dropped to Gabrielle's side, holding her as she writhed in pain. Bellatrix leveled her wand at Clark again. "You should be dead. How did you survive?"

Clark ignored her and looked around him. "Are you guys alright?"

No one answered. Lana had climbed to her feet and was looking at him in wonder. Everyone else just looked confused and thankful.

Lex looked at him, dazed with fear and relief. "Clark, how did you survive that?" His expression turned strange. "How did I survive that?"

Bellatrix took the opportunity to hurl a Cruciatus Curse at Clark, but the red bolt bounced off of him harmlessly and sizzled when it hit the ground. Her eyes widened in horror. "Who are you?"

Clark saw Lana, Lex, Harry, Cho, and all of the others staring at him, all wondering that very same thing. He took a deep breath and knew he had no choice.

"I am Kal-El."


	13. Chapter Twelve

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** Hi again! Only a couple notes here – Bill's and Gabrielle's patronuses are never mentioned anywhere in canon, so I had to make them up. Same for Bellatrix (and yes, that means there will be dementors). Also, I don't remember if I mentioned this before, but I jumped Gabrielle's age three or four years so that if Harry's twenty-two, she would be nineteen or twenty, not sixteen. Because that would be creepy.

Thanks as always to Lauren, my patient and faithful beta.

**DISCLAIMER** Don't own anyone. Merely borrowing them.

The wide grin that split Bellatrix's face was more frightening than anything Clark had seen before. Lana and Lex stood silent, too shocked to scream. "Well, well, well," Bellatrix purred. She looked Clark up and down. "You're not what I expected."

Clark glared at her, holding his ground in front of the others defiantly. "And what did you expect?"

She shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "It certainly will be fun to get to know exactly what you're made of."

He felt Lana stiffen behind him and he blushed. "You'll have to take me first."

"I don't think that will be a problem."

Then Harry was standing between Clark and the Death Eaters. "You don't really think we're going to let you take him, do you?" he asked. Before Clark could stop them, Ron, Hermione, Bill, Gabrielle, Cho, Lex, and Lana had all joined Harry.

Bellatrix smirked. "Strangely enough, little Potter, I do." Then without another word, she and her Death Eater followers Disapparated with a loud crack.

Suddenly the bright Kansas sun seemed to fade away into nothingness. Lana began to shiver first, but soon the entire group was shaking uncontrollably from the bone-chilling cold. Blackness closed in around them. "Harry?" Cho called weakly.

He meant it as a scream, but it came out only a whisper. "Dementors."

Lana, Lex, and Clark, unprepared for the attack, were the first to fall to the ground as the black-hooded creatures glided silently out of the cornstalks. The others circled around them as best they could, but there were dementors everywhere.

Images danced in Lex's eyes. He blinked, but the dark, shadowy vision wouldn't fade. He was in the mansion; the walls were cold stone. He was young and afraid to look in the crib, but he did it anyway. There was the baby, his tiny face blue, his skin cold. "No!" Lex cried out, writhing on the ground. "Julian!"

Lana too fell into a blackened memory – of being a little girl in a fairy princess costume waving to her parents. She heard the whine of the meteor, saw the black smoke and flame. Only here the flame was as black as the smoke. Everything was black and her parents' screams echoed endlessly in her head.

Cho cringed as she heard Lana scream over and over again for her mom and dad. Bill was the first to raise his wand. With every last ounce of energy he had, he thought of Fleur and how much he loved her. "_Expecto__ Patronum!_" he cried.

A brilliant silver eagle burst from the end of his wand and swooped toward the dementors. Around him, other shimmering creatures joined the giant bird – a dolphin from Gabrielle, a small but ferocious Jack Russell Terrier from Ron, an otter from Hermione, a swan from Cho, and a stag from Harry.

It did not take long for the Patronuses to flicker and dissolve in thin mist. There were far too many dementors for the small band.

Cho couldn't tell whether the horrible memory that came to her was another from the broken charm or from the dementor steadily advancing on her. She was a little girl, waking to see a dark, shadowy man in her bedroom. He pointed a stick at her and said, "_Imperio_." When he told her to get out of bed and follow him out the window, she didn't argue or even question. She just went willingly.

The image of Fleur faded from Bill's mind as blackness set in. It was replaced by a man with pure vicious ferocity in his eyes coming toward him with a sadistic grin. Bill clawed at his face, feeling Greyback's teeth and fingernails as clearly as the night he had been attacked.

Gabrielle, Ron, and Hermione fell in a heap, twitching and crying out the names of their friends and family who had died fighting Voldemort. Harry fought the tug of the darkness longer than the others. The stag was the last to fade away, but then Harry fell to the ground like the others. A flash of green light came from deep in the blackness, followed by the voice of a woman begging and high, cruel laughter.

The black-robed creatures circled around the bodies lying on the ground. They all seemed drawn to Clark, who was screaming the words, "Krypton," "Lara," and "Jor-El" endlessly as he stared blindly at the sky.

Bellatrix reappeared, a wispy silver snake coiling around her. She stopped the dementors when they moved in for the kiss. "Leave him intact." The creatures seemed to nod and suddenly melted back into the rows of corn. She surveyed the scene.

Lex and Lana lay still, unconscious from the emotional assault. Harry and his company were twitching and shaking, Bill and Cho still clinging to shreds of consciousness. Clark had ceased screaming and lay still, his eyes open but unseeing.

She gestured to Draco and Millicent Bullstrode, who had returned with the others once the dementors had left. "Take him."

"To where?" Millicent asked. "We can't Apparate with him."

"We won't be taking Kal-El with us," Bellatrix replied. "The only thing I'm after doesn't require him for very long." She grinned and Draco and Millicent took out their wands and together raised the body from the ground. "We will take him to where the green rocks scatter the ground. They will make him weak so that we can open his veins."

Cho narrowed her eyes blearily as Clark's body began to float away. Bellatrix grinned and murmured softly to Draco. The blonde man nodded and looked back over his shoulder with a smirk. "_Stupefy_!" he said and the wandless curse threw Cho into blackness.

After Draco and Millicent had Clark at the edge of the clearing, Bellatrix turned to the other Death Eaters. "Make sure they don't follow."

Slow smiles spread across their faces and wands were leveled. A rainbow of lightning bolts flashed through the field at the heap of bodies. When Hermione's body was the last to still, the Death Eaters followed their Lady away from the cornstalks and Harry and the others were left lying alone.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** I know that Hermione would probably, in canon reality, not give up their secret so easily, but she has to for this scene to work. Plus, these are extenuating circumstances.

Thanks as ever to Lauren my beta.

**DISCLAIMER** Don't own anyone.

Someone was shining a bright light in her eyes. She tried to blink, hoping it would go away, but it didn't. Moaning, she flung a hand over her eyes.

"Cho?"

"Liza?"

Worried voices penetrated Cho's spell-fogged brain and she struggled to open her eyes.

"Liza, please wake up!"

There was something in that voice that made Cho wake up almost instantly. She blinked painfully in the bright sunlight. "Lana?"

Immediately, Lana threw her arms around Cho and sobbed into her shoulder. Cho looked around, saw Lex holding a bloody bump on his temple and Harry helping Gabrielle to her feet. Hermione knelt next to Ron's still unconscious form and Bill stood at the edge of the clearing keeping watch. She patted Lana's back. "What happened?"

"They took him!" she cried. "They took him with them!"

Cold dread crept into her stomach. She met Harry's eyes, saw his sad nod. "Merlin," she whispered. "They took Clark."

Tearfully, Lana nodded. "What is she going to do to him?"

"I don't know," Cho admitted.

"Whatever it is," came Ron's groggy voice, "it can't be good."

Hermione, so happy to see him awake, threw her arms around him and knocked him back to the ground. Bill chuckled and knelt to help Ron up. "Come on, little brother."

"Thanks," said Ron, brushing a cornhusk from his shaggy red hair.

They stood in a somber circle, Lex still wobbly and Lana leaning heavily on Cho's shoulder. Finally, Harry spoke. "Do you all remember what happened?" he asked.

Lex shivered violently. "I've never felt like that before in my life. It felt like I would never ever be happy again."

"Dementors," Cho said quietly. "You couldn't see them, but they were there. They feed on happiness. Love. Any good feeling you have until you're left with nothing but your worst memories."

"They're nasty pieces of work," Bill added.

"That's not what I meant," Harry broke in. "I meant, do you remember what Clark said?"

Again, they all fell quiet. "That thing," Lana said slowly. "That…curse she hit him with in the cave, the one that killed Whitney, that was supposed to kill Clark too, wasn't it?"

Grimly, everyone nodded. "Although this kind of thing has happened before," Bill pointed out. "Harry survived it."

"That was different," Harry said. "Clark – no one sacrificed themselves for him. If anything, he sacrificed himself for the rest of us. There was no charm on him."

"What's Kal-El?" Ron asked.

The wizards turned to Lex and Lana. "Don't look at me!" Lex said.

"There's always been something a little strange about Clark," Lana admitted.

"Strange how?" Cho asked.

Lana shrugged. "He's always secretive. Shows up in weird places. Kind of…saves the day."

"He does have a little bit of a superhero complex," Lex said.

"And it's never occurred to you that there may be more to him than meets the eye?" Ron asked.

Lana shrugged and blushed. "He's Clark. That's just who he is."

Harry sighed. "That's all fine and good, but what does Kal-El mean?"

Lex and Cho shared a look. "Bellatrix kept talking about an alien. A creature that fell from the sky," Cho said slowly.

"No," Lana said immediately. "You don't mean…you can't mean…"

No one answered her, instead shifting uncomfortably and staring at the ground. "I guess we'll never know," Bill said sadly.

Lana looked up at all of their faces and her anger flared. "What is wrong with all of you? We cannot abandon Clark to die!" She laughed furiously. "Some Rebel Alliance you are."

Bill took Lana's hand. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" she shrieked. "You are standing here telling me you're sorry while Clark is God knows where probably being tortured!"

Cho put her hand on Lana's arm, but Lana violently shook it off. "Don't you dare start acting like my big sister after all these years," she snarled.

Hermione leapt to Cho's defense. "Lana, there's nothing – "

"I'll kill you if you tell me there is nothing you can do."

Harry opened his mouth, prepared to jump into the fray, but Lex cut him off. "Everyone shut up!" The others fell silent at his sudden outburst. "Standing in the middle of a cornfield screaming at each other is not going any good!"

Hermione and Harry looked guiltily at each other. Cho wiped away tears. Lana refused to look at any of the others. "Now I don't know anything about aliens or the ravings of madwomen, but I do know Clark Kent," Lex continued. "And there is no one that he is closer to than his mother and father."

Understanding dawned on the others' faces. "We have to see them," Bill said.

Lex nodded. "It anyone knows why this woman wants Clark, it's Jonathan and Martha Kent."

…

Jonathan and Martha sat huddled together silently in their storm cellar. There had been no word from Clark for nearly three hours. Frustrated, Jonathan started pacing. "He should be back by now," he said, casting an eye at the cellar doors.

"Jonathan, no," Martha said firmly. "Clark told us to stay here until he came back for us." She stood and held her husband's arm. "He will come back."

Doubtfully, he nodded. "Have you ever seen Clark that upset before?" he asked quietly.

Martha shook her head. "He was scared," she said. "I've never seen him actually terrified of something."

"Me neither."

More time passed. Dust motes floated lazily through the cracks of sunlight that poured in around the storm doors. Then, very faintly, they heard a familiar voice calling, "Mr. Kent? Mrs. Kent!"

"That's Lex!" Martha whispered as she pressed her ear to the doors.

Another voice joined Lex. "Mrs. Kent, Mr. Kent, please!"

"And Lana," Martha added.

"We need your help!" Lana called. There was a tearful tone in her voice. "They have Clark!"

Clark's words of warning flew from their heads and Jonathan and Martha threw open the cellar doors and rushed out into the sunlight. They were shocked to see not only Lana and Lex, but also Lana's sister Liza and five people wearing outlandish robes.

Lana saw them first and went running. She flung herself into Martha's arms, sobbing. Martha and Jonathan shared a look. The others gathered around them. "Lex, what's going on?" Jonathan asked. "Who are all these people?"

Lex just looked at him with blank eyes. "They took Clark," was all he replied.

Jonathan grabbed him by the shoulders. "Who? Who took Clark?"

Liza Lang stepped in. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent, we need to go inside. There are things we have to talk about."

Angrily, Jonathan turned on her. "You people come onto my land yelling that someone has taken my son and then tell me that we have to talk about some things?"

"Mr. Kent, please," Liza said. "Please listen to what we have to say. Clark's life depends on it!"  
Lana looked pleadingly at Martha. "Please! Mrs. Kent if you don't listen to us, Clark will die."

Martha looked at her husband and nodded encouragingly. "Fine," Jonathan said to the strange-looking group. "We'll talk in the house."

Mere moments later, they had assembled in the kitchen. "Mr. and Mrs. Kent," Liza began. "I met you last night as Cho Chang. I was here looking for my parents. I…" She paused, considering how best to phrase things. "I was told that they had given me up for adoption.

"But then I met Lana and my Aunt Nell and I remembered everything. I remembered being kidnapped and taken to England."

Jonathan regarded her suspiciously. "And you just magically remembered all of this?"

One of the others, with unruly black hair and a strange scar on his forehead, coughed suddenly and met Liza's eyes. "What is going on here?" Jonathan demanded.

The black-haired one sighed. "I suppose I should introduce us. My name is Harry Potter. This is Ron Weasley, Bill Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Gabrielle Delacour. We're friends of Cho's from school." He took a deep breath. "We know about your son."

Martha gasped and Jonathan stood up angrily. "I don't know who you people are or what you want, but you better tell me what you know about Clark or so help me God…"  
His wife took his arm. "Jonathan, please, calm down."

"Calm down?"

The woman with curly brown hair, Hermione, sighed in frustration and grabbed a framed photograph of Clark from a nearby bookshelf. With all her might, she dashed it to the ground, shattering the glass and cracking the frame itself. Silence fell over the room as everyone stared. "What the Hell do you think you're doing?" Jonathan shouted, livid.

"Making you listen to us!" she snapped back. In an instant, she had the broken frame in one hand and a long wooden stick in the other. She pointed the tip of the wand at the glass and said, "_Reparo__!_"

The kitchen lapsed into stunned silence. Hermione waved the fixed frame in the air. "I'm a witch!" she said firmly. Lana and Lex looked at each other and raised their eyebrows. "Cho and Gabrielle," Hermione continued, "they're witches too! Harry, Ron and Bill, they're wizards! And now a very powerful dark witch has kidnapped your son because she knows he's some creature called Kal-El and she thinks that he can grant her immortality!"

Hermione fell quiet, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry to throw all of this in your face, but we cannot afford to waste any more time. Every second that goes by gives Bellatrix more opportunity to discover the secret of immortality and that would _not_ be a good thing!"

"Like hurting my son would be?" Jonathan bit back, regaining his voice.

"Jonathan!" Martha admonished quietly.

"Hermione and the rest of us want to find your son as much as you do," Harry said smoothly.

Martha wiped tears away. "What is this woman after specifically?" she asked. "What does she want from Clark?"

Harry sighed and shrugged. "I don't know."

"I do," Bill said suddenly. "I wasn't quite out when they left after the dementor attack," he explained.

Martha looked rather alarmed at his words. Lana clung to Cho. "What does she want then?" she asked Bill.

Looking sadly at Clark's parents, Bill replied, "His blood."

…

Clark's consciousness came back to him in waves as he was carried away from the pile of knocked-out bodies in the cornfield. Whatever those dementors had done to him, it had the same effect as meteor rocks on his abilities.

Suddenly he was thrown heavily to the ground. Something tapped on his forehead. "Rise and shine, Kal-El!"

He blearily opened his eyes and stared into the grinning face of Bellatrix Lestrange. "What do you want?" he muttered.

Her grin grew wider and Clark was suddenly afraid of her answer. "I want to see what you're made of before I kill you." She grinned. "Exactly what you're made of."


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** Sorry it's been a while since I posted! I had to let my beta look over this chapter and it's a good thing she did, since it went through a couple changes. Cho and Lana might still be a little melodramatic, but I've toned them down.

Enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER** I don't own anyone, except I made up the idea of Liza Lang.

A heavy silence had fallen in the Kent kitchen. Lana was crying again on Cho's shoulder. Harry, Ron, and Bill had left and were whispering amongst themselves in the living room. Hermione and Gabrielle stood awkwardly against the stove, keeping a nervous eye on Lex, who was sitting silently at the kitchen table.

Finally, Lana wiped her eyes and asked, "What do we do now?"

"We need to figure out where Bellatrix and the others took him," Bill said as he, Harry and Ron rejoined the group. "Assemble a team and rescue Clark before she can get what she wants."

Martha frowned. "Assemble a team? I – I don't understand."

Harry nodded to Ron, who suddenly disappeared with a loud crack. Martha shrieked. "Don't worry!" Harry said. "He's on his way to get help." He turned to the others. "He's gone to meet with Remus. In the meantime, it's up to us to find where Bellatrix has taken Clark and keep her from hurting him until Remus and the others arrive."

"How long?" Hermione asked.

Harry glanced at Jonathan, Martha, Lana, and Lex before replying, "Hopefully soon."

"Where do we look for Clark?" Gabrielle asked.

With a heavy sigh, Harry said, "I don't know."

Jonathan and Martha shared a look. "We might," Jonathan admitted.

Hermione and Harry looked at them eagerly. "How?"

"If she wants his blood, she'll need to be able to cut him open," Martha said.

"Yes," Cho said, one arm still around Lana.

Martha sighed. "Clark's skin can't be broken by anything." She looked at the floor to avoid the questioning and skeptical stares of the others. "At least, not anything on earth."

Lana broke away from her sister and crossed to Clark's mother. "Mrs. Kent, what are you talking about?"

She was crying now. "We found him – "

Jonathan put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. Then he turned to the others. "The only way to break Clark's skin is to expose him to the rocks left behind by the meteor shower."

"The meteor rocks?" Lex repeated. "What do they have to do with anything?"

"Clark is allergic to them," Martha said. "They make him weak. Weak enough for a knife to cut him."

Harry and Bill looked at each other and nodded. "So where are there a lot of these meteor rocks?"

Jonathan opened his mouth to answer, but Lana jumped on him. "Why does Clark need to be exposed to meteor rocks?" she demanded. "Why won't a knife cut his skin?"

The Kents said nothing. Cho took Lana gently by the arm. "Right now, let's just get Clark back," she said quietly. Lana continued to glare at Clark's parents, but finally nodded.

"Okay."

Harry waited until the two sisters were quiet, then approached the Kents. "Where do you think Bellatrix would take Clark?"

"Carlton Gorge," Jonathan said.

Bill nodded. "Harry, take the others and go ahead. I'll bring word to Ron and meet you there as soon as possible."

"Okay." Harry, Hermione, Gabrielle, and Cho started heading for the door as Bill Disapparated. Lana looked at Mrs. Kent before heading after them.

Cho spun around. "No way!" she said. "You are staying right here with Clark's parents and Lex."

"What?" Lana cried.

"I am not risking your life!" Cho said. "Bellatrix is too powerful."

Lana's lip trembled and she threw her arms around Cho. She didn't let go for a minute. "We have to go," Cho said quietly as she stroked Lana's hair.

Martha took Lana gently and pulled her toward her. She nodded at Cho, who let her tears stream silently down her cheeks as she followed the others outside. Harry and the three witches shared a grave look before Disapparating from the porch.

…

Clark was bound to a tree. His wrists were held together by a powerful charm from Bellatrix that he wasn't sure he could break even if he had been at his full power. As it was, the meteor rocks in the area left him weak, dizzy, and in pain.

Bellatrix had made a game of torturing him, pulling off his clothes piece by piece and testing her various curses and hexes on him. He was left in nothing but his underwear, bruised and burned and wrapped around a tree. He suddenly was reminded of a time not so long ago when Whitney had tied him to a post in a cornfield, nearly naked with Lana's meteor rock necklace on. Now Whitney was dead and Lex wouldn't be coming to save him this time.

No one would come to save him. Even if the others had survived the attack, there was no way they would know he was still alive.

So many things didn't make sense. This crazy woman knew more about him and his past than he did. Only when he was hit by the green curse was he sure of anything about his past. As far as he could tell, the curse was supposed to kill him. It had killed Whitney. It had hurt more than meteor rocks did. It had made him want to die.

And then there were those horrible black shadows in the cornfield. Everything that was good about his life had melted away and left him in a bottomless joyless pit. He remembered a huge red star and an explosion. He remembered crying out names as he lay in the cornfield, but not what the names were.

Suddenly, Bellatrix was kneeling in front of him, false concern in her eyes. "How are you doing, Kal-El?" she asked. "You holding up alright?"

"Perfect," Clark said.

"Good!" Bellatrix bounced to her feet and motioned to her followers behind her. "This is your finest moment! Wouldn't want you all tired out."

Clark warily watched the silver-haired man, Draco, approach him with a knife. He raised an eyebrow. "All tired out for what?"

"For your sacrifice, of course," Bellatrix replied. "You should feel honored, Kal-El. You are helping to make the great Lord Voldemort's vision a reality!"

Clark squirmed as Draco got closer and Bellatrix rambled. "With your blood, I will live forever to carry on the Heir of Slytherin's noble cause! I will live to see his dream realized! Then we will purify the Wizarding World, cleansing it of Mudbloods forever!"

Clark felt the cold blade of the knife against the side of his neck. "You sound an awful lot like Hitler," he said. "And look what happened to him!'

He flinched when he saw the cold hatred in the woman's eyes. She nodded to Draco, Clark cried out as the knife pierced his skin in a long line around the side of his neck. "Don't waste the blood!" Bellatrix cried.

There was a series of cracks. Bellatrix and her followers looked up, distracted. "Potter!" Draco sneered. He pulled out his wand and started to climb to his feet, but Bellatrix's voice stopped him.

"Not this time, Draco! Collect the creature's blood!"

Harry smirked when he saw Draco sneer but return to Clark's side. "Hermione, you and Cho take Draco!" he said. "Get Clark out of here!" He turned toward Bellatrix and grinned. "Hello again Bellatrix."

She threw back her head and laughed. "I'm not afraid of you and your little girlfriend, Potter."

"Maybe you should be!" Gabrielle said.

"Somehow I don't think so," Bellatrix replied. "Since there are two of you and a whole crowd of us."

Harry raised his eyebrows, crinkling the skin around his scar. "It only took one of me to kill your beloved Voldemort."

"Never speak his name, you filthy little halfblood!" Bellatrix screamed. She pulled out her wand and charged.

"_Stupefy!_" Harry cried. The hex went wide, missing Bellatrix but hitting one of her Death Eaters. From the grunt, Harry thought it was Marcus Flint.

"_Avada__ Kedavra!_"

The bolt of green light just narrowly missed Gabrielle and sizzled harmlessly on the ground. By the tree that Clark was tied to, Hermione and Cho had gotten close enough to fight Draco hand-to-hand, but even with two of them they were having trouble holding their own. Clark sagged weakly against the tree trunk.

Harry and Gabrielle dodged curses from all sides, taking refuge behind a large cluster of trees. "Harry, how long can we keep this up?" Gabrielle asked. Harry shrugged and sent a disarming spell at Goyle.

A barrage of cracks drew everyone's attention. Harry's face lit up when he saw Bill and Ron leading Remus, Tonks, the Weasley twins, and a handful of other Order members toward the fighting. "Thank Merlin!" Harry said.

"Need help, mate?" Ron said with a grin.

Harry turned his eyes back to Bellatrix. "I could use a hand."

Ron, Bill, Fred and George shared a patented Weasley grin. Suddenly the odds had fallen much more evenly.

Hermione finally managed to hit Draco hard enough in the face to knock him unconscious. They left him sprawled on the ground and huddled near Clark. Hermione pointed her wand at Clark's wrists and said, "_Finite incantatem!_" They glowed dimly for a minute, then Clark groaned as his arms fell to his sides. He curled into a ball on the ground.

"We have to get him out of here," Cho said.

"I can't lift him," Hermione said. "And floating him out of here would just make him a target for Bellatrix."

With a gasp, Clark grabbed at Hermione's robes. "The blood!" he said. "Don't let her get my blood!"

Only then did the two witches notice that Clark was keeping one hand clamped over a bloody wound on his neck. Cho gently pulled his hand away and muttered a healing spell. The cut closed itself and the bleeding stopped. Clark breathed a sigh of relief, but then looked around wildly. "The blonde man – he was collecting it from my neck! You need to destroy it!"

"I'll put up a protection spell while you look for the blood," Hermione said.

Cho nodded. The bowl was lying half-spilled near where Draco was still passed out. She cried, "_Incende__!_" and the blood in the bowl and soaking into the earth burst into flames.

A rippling light formed a bubble around the three and Clark smiled weakly. "Is it destroyed?"

Cho nodded. "All gone."

"Thanks." Clark looked at the colorful curses flying through the air. "What do we do now?"

Hermione sighed. "We wait."

Fred and George were back-to-back, fighting off Goyle from one side and Montague from the other. Their expressions bore identical strain as their opponents did not relent.

Suddenly Montague fell flat on his face, stunned. Fred grinned at Bill. "Thanks, big brother!"

"Anytime!"

Fred spun around so that he was standing at his twin's shoulder. They both grinned as Goyle suddenly took a frightened step back. "Not so tough now," Fred said.

"Fred! Or George! Or, whichever!"

The twins looked to their left to see Lee Jordan dueling Flint. He waved with his free hand desperately. "Help!" he called. "Help would be good!"

They started toward him, but his plea to them had given Flint the moment he needed. With a grin, he aimed his wand at Lee and shouted the Killing Curse. The twins watched in horror as their friend fell dead on the forest floor.

Lee was not the only Order member who had fallen. Remus gathered the survivors in a group while defending against Bellatrix and the others' continued attacks.

"How are we supposed to win this?" Gabrielle asked. Harry and Bill looked at each other and shrugged desperately.

"Harry, mate, any Boy-Who-Lived miracles you've got stored up would be good right about now," Fred muttered, his eyes shiny with tears.

"Sorry. Fresh out."

Bellatrix grinned coldly. "A lot of people could have used your miracles, little Potter. That brainless boy in the graveyard, my dear cousin Sirius, even that old fool Dumbledore."

Clark's eyebrows rose higher and higher as he watched Harry's emerald eyes blaze hotly with rage. "Uh-oh," he said.

"Uh-oh is right," Cho said.

"Just occupy the others," Harry growled.

Remus stared at Harry for a moment, then simply nodded. "Okay."

The hexes began flying faster as each Order member chose a Death Eater and drew them away from where Bellatrix stood cackling madly. Fred and George took on Flint together, rage and grief burning in their eyes.

With crazy, dancing eyes, Bellatrix said, "Now it's you and me, baby Potty!"

"I've been waiting for this since the day you killed Sirius in the Department of Mysteries," he shot back.

Bellatrix's grin grew wider. "Since the day you got Sirius killed."

His emotions slipped from his control and Harry blindly charged. He dodged everything Bellatrix threw at him, the words _Avada__ Kedavra_ on the tip of his tongue. Dozens of damaging curses raced through his head, but none but the Killing Curse seemed good enough for Bellatrix Lestrange. He summoned his anger into the core of his magic, feeling the hate fueling his power.

But then he saw the evil glowing in the eyes of the insane woman before him. Suddenly he remembered how Voldemort's eyes had looked during the last battle and he wondered if his own looked like that now. He dropped his wand.

Bellatrix frowned. "You aren't going to fight back?" She pouted. "You're no fun."

The sharp splintering of wood echoed through the gorge seconds before a thick tree came thundering down on top of Bellatrix. She had no time to scream.

Everyone in the clearing had frozen. They turned to see Cho standing next to a shattered stump, her wand in hand. Tears were streaming down her face. "She made me remember," she whispered. Her voice was choked. "She made me remember everything!"

The Death Eaters began panicked Apparations and with a handful of cracks, they were gone. Hermione dropped the protective barrier. Then she and Gabrielle took Cho in their arms and gently led her to sit on the ground.

Bill spoke softly to Remus. "You can take the others back. We'll be home soon."

Remus nodded, casting a sad glance at the handful of bodies behind him. Fred and George were stoically wrapping Lee's body in a cloak, while Parvati Patil cried over her dead twin. Then, one by one, they began to disappear with loud pops that echoed through the woods.

Bill and Ron approached Harry slowly. "Come on, Harry," Bill said. "We have to get Clark out of here."


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** Sorry about the delay! I've been really, really busy in real life. Also, the scene in the living room shifts viewpoints a couple of times – sorry if it's confusing!

Thanks to my beta Lauren. Hope you enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER** Don't own any of them.

Martha Kent sat on her kitchen table, absently stroking Lana's hair. Jonathan was pacing back and forth, while Lex sat in the living room staring at the empty fireplace. No one had said anything since Harry and the others had left.

Suddenly, Lana looked up. "I think I hear something."

All four, even Lex, turned nervous eyes to the doorway. Within moments, Bill and Ron burst through the kitchen door carrying Clark between them. "Oh God, Clark!" Martha cried.

Harry plodded in after them, with Hermione and Gabrielle leading Cho in last. Lana jumped up from the table and ran to her sister. "Liza, are you okay?"

Cho stared at Lana for a moment, but nodded and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm fine. It's over."

Jonathan frowned. "What do you mean, it's over?"

"Bellatrix is dead," Hermione told him quietly. "The Death Eaters are gone. Your son is safe now."

As if on cue, Clark sat up on the couch, shaking his head and blinking. "Clark!" Martha said. "Are you okay?"

He nodded and gratefully accepted the shirt that his father offered him. "Now that I'm away from the meteor rocks, all the marks from the curses are going away." Martha looked alarmed and threw her arms around Clark. He chuckled. "I'm okay, Mom."

Harry approached Clark curiously. "I've never seen anyone recover from that kind of torture so quickly!"

Martha's face turned ghostly white. Clark climbed to his feet and led Harry to the foyer. "Try to keep the torture talk to a minimum around my parents, okay?"

Harry nodded. "Sorry."

Clark shuffled his feet. "Harry, I need to talk to you about something."

Bill, Ron, Gabrielle, and Hermione sat in the living room trying to calm Clark's parents and leaving Lana and Cho alone in the kitchen. Lana watched Cho worriedly as they sat in silence. Finally, Lana said, "Thank you for bringing Clark back."

Cho nodded. "No problem."

"Are you okay?"

Tears brimmed in Cho's eyes. "I killed her, Lana. You sure you want a big sister who's a murderer?"

Lana gripped Cho's hand. "That woman was not human and you are the only family I have."

Cho managed a weak smile. "How did you kill her?" Lana asked.

With a dry laugh, Cho replied, "I knocked a tree onto her."

Lana smirked. "Crushed by a falling object. Classic Smallville." She stood up. "Come on. I think Mr. and Mrs. Kent are taking this pretty hard."

Cho snorted. "I can't imagine why."

Lana and Cho entered the living room just as Clark and Harry did from the front hall. "Dad?" Clark said. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure, son." Jonathan followed Clark into the privacy of the kitchen. "Clark, will you please tell us what's going on?"

"I thought Harry and the others explained it to you."

Jonathan laughed. "Well they did but come on, Clark. Witches?"

"I'm an alien."

"Yes, but that's not – "

"And I think it's time that I told them."

Jonathan gave his son a hard look. "Clark, are you sure about this?"

Clark nodded. "I nearly got them all killed. Again. They deserve to know the truth." He lowered her voice. "Besides, I talked to Harry and he promised to help."

"Help with what?" Jonathan asked.

Clark looked sad. "Help them forget. But they deserve a full explanation first."

With a sigh, Jonathan clapped Clark on the shoulder. "Okay son."

Clark turned and slowly walked toward the living room where his mother was still being consoled by Lana, Cho, Gabrielle, and Hermione. Harry caught Clark's eye and nodded. Clark took a deep breath. "Hey," he said. "I, uh, I have something to tell you all."

Martha looked at him, surprised. Lana, Lex, Cho, Bill, Ron, Gabrielle, and Hermione just waited expectantly. Clark sat awkwardly on the arm of an easy chair. "I should be dead," he finally said. "I was hit by that curse – the one that killed Whitney. I should be dead, but I'm not. I think you all deserve to know why."

Hermione took his pause as her opportunity to ask the question that had been burning in her mind. "What does Kal-El mean?"

"It's my birth name," Clark said.

Lana gasped. "You found your birth parents?"

Clark shook his head. "No. My birth parents are dead."

Lex was shaking his head, a confused frown on his face. "Clark, how do you know all of this?"

"When the Killing Curse hit me," Clark said, "I had a vision. Kind of like how people say your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. I heard my birth father's voice. He told me that I was the last hope for my people. And then the planet exploded."

He was met with stunned silence. "What?" Lana whispered.

Clark could not look at her as he continued. "The ship had a pre-set course. But when it landed, it landed amidst pieces of the destroyed planet. That was nearly thirteen years ago."

"The Smallville meteor shower," Lana said, her voice barely audible.

"The sun makes my body act differently here." Clark looked embarrassed. "I'm really fast and really strong. I can see through anything except lead and nothing can break my skin."

"Except when you're around those rocks," Bill pointed out. "Why?"

Clark shrugged. He looked at Lex and Lana, wondering how they were taking the news.

They sat in silence for a long time. Lex in particular looked shaken to the core. "I didn't image you saving me then," he finally said. Clark shook his head miserably. "I hit you on the bridge," Lex said slowly, as if trying to comprehend his own words. "And then pushed you into the water. You ripped off the roof of the car and dragged me out."

"Yeah," Clark said softly.

"Why did you never tell me?" Lana asked.

"I'm so sorry, Lana. I wanted to a million times, but I thought it was too dangerous."

Her stony expression did not change. "Does anyone know?"

"My parents." Clark blushed and mumbled, "Obviously."

Cho leaned over to Harry. "Why is this so hard for them?" she asked. "He's still the same person."

Harry shook his head sadly. "No, he isn't. Trust me, when people find out that you're different than they are…" His voice trailed off. Gabrielle reassuringly squeezed his hand.

"So you really can't be hurt?" Lex asked.

Clark relaxed slightly when he heard that Lex's tone had shifted from shock to curiosity. "The meteor rocks hurt. As far as I can tell, they're radioactive pieces of Krypton."

"Krypton was your home?" Hermione asked.

Clark nodded. "Its explosion was what eventually caused the meteor shower."

He saw Lana's hand fly to her throat, where her necklace would normally have been. "The meteor shower," she repeated.

Again, Clark nodded miserably. "I am so sorry about your parents, Lana. Every day I live with knowing that it's my fault they're dead."

Lana was quiet for a minute, then reached for Clark's hand and said quietly, "It really isn't your fault. You didn't cause the explosion. I mean, how could you; you were just a baby, right? You must have been." Then she realized that she was rambling and stopped talking.

Clark coughed to clear his choked up throat and said simple, "Thank you."

"So you're really strong and superfast and impervious to harm and you have X-Ray vision," Ron said, changing the subject. Clark nodded. "Can you do anything else?"

Hermione smacked him on the arm. "Ronald! As if those things weren't enough!"

Clark laughed. "Nope, that's all. Although the X-Ray vision came recently way after the other stuff, so who knows what else will show up?"

Everyone laughed. But then Clark saw his parents share a worried glance. He looked at Harry and said, "I think it's time."

Harry sighed and stood up. "Okay."

Lana looked between Clark and Harry, alarmed. "What's going on?"

Clark stood up and helped Lana to her feet. "Lana, I've wanted to tell you my secret since the day I met you."

Lana gripped his hands. "And I'm so glad you finally did."

He pulled his hands away and avoided her eyes. "But the reason I never told you is because everyone who knows my secret is put in that much more danger."

"Clark, what are you saying?"

Harry cleared his throat and pulled out his wand. "Clark has asked me to erase your memories of the things he's told you and the things that you've seen him do."

Lana's jaw dropped. "What?" she cried.

Cho glared at Harry angrily. "You're going to Obliviate my little sister? Over my dead body!"

"Liza," Clark began.

"My name is Cho!" she cried as tears unexpectedly gathered in her eyes. "I mean – I'm not sure."

Lana ran to Cho's side. "I don't care what your name is! I just don't want to forget you!"

Cho wrapped her arms around Lana. "I will never let your forget me. I promise."

Clark nodded. "Harry told me that you'll only forget the things about me."

Lana looked at Cho for reassurance. Reluctantly, Cho glanced at Harry and Clark, then at Clark's parents, and knew that it had to be done. She looked back at Lana and nodded. "I promise. If it will make you feel better, I'll do it myself." She looked at Harry, who nodded.

Lana looked back at Clark. "Is there any way to talk you out of this?"

He shook his head. "Lana, you get targeted enough as it is. I couldn't live with myself if you were in even more danger because of me."

Lana tried to smile as she started crying. "Maybe one day you'll trust me enough to tell me for real?"

He nodded. "One day." Then he turned to Lex, who was merely watching the exchange silently. "Lex, you're not going to fight me on this?"

Lex laughed dryly. "Clark, I ran you off a bridge and you ripped the roof off of my car. I'd be crazy to fight you on anything."

With a small smile, Clark said, "I wish you'd at least remember that."

Cho stood up and stood beside Harry, her wand out. "Lana, Lex, sit down on the couch."

They did as she said. Bill, Ron, Hermione, and Gabrielle herded Mr. and Mrs. Kent into the kitchen. Tears streamed down Lana's cheeks. "If I forget," she said.

"You won't," Cho said.

"If I forget you," Lana insisted, "make me listen to you again."

"Absolutely." Cho smiled sadly. "Are you ready?"

Lex and Lana nodded. Cho and Harry shared a look, then pointed their wands at the two in front of them and said together, "_Obliviate_."


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** And here's the penultimate chapter! There's one more to come (after my beta reads it), then that's it! Thanks for all of you who read and reviewed, or those of you who just read – I hope you've enjoyed it!

Remember that I jumped Gabrielle's age so that the Gabrielle/Harry pairing isn't quite so creepy.

Also, thanks as always to my beta Lauren. She rocks.

**DISCLAIMER** I don't own any of them.

They were gathered in the cornfields between Lana's house and the Kent farm. Harry and Hermione especially had insisted on finding a place where no one would see them.

No one said anything. Lana held onto Cho for dear life. True to her sister's promise, she had not forgotten anything about the story of Liza's disappearance.

Finally Harry said, "I guess we should go soon. Remus will want to report on, uh, everything."

Lana tightened her grip of Cho's arm. Cho looked at the faces of her friends, then at Lana and Clark and Lex. "I can't," she finally said.

Hermione frowned. "Can't what?"

"I can't go."

Lana's eyes lit up. She threw her arms around Cho. Lex smiled. "So I take it that means you'll be staying in Smallville?"

Cho smiled shyly back. "At least for a while."

Hermione and Gabrielle shared a look, then tapped Lana on the shoulder. "Can we borrow your sister for a moment?"

Lana frowned, but nodded. The two witches pulled Cho away from the others. "You're not coming back with us?" Hermione asked.

Cho shifted uncomfortably. "What would you do if you suddenly discovered everything you thought you knew about yourself was a lie?"

Gabrielle opened her mouth as if to argue, but Cho stopped her. "I know that my adopted parents love me and I love them too, but all of a sudden I've found out that there was this whole other life that I was supposed to live." She smiled. "More memories have been coming back – good ones. Plus I have a sister here."

Hermione smirked. "Not to mention a young attractive bald man to help introduce you to Smallville."

Cho blushed. "There is that."

Hermione sighed. "We'll miss you."

Cho hugged her and Gabrielle fiercely before they rejoined the others. Then she hugged Bill, Ron, and finally Harry. Lana too hugged Hermione and Gabrielle. "Thank you," she said.

"For what?" asked Hermione.

Lana grinned. "For letting me keep my big sister!"

Hermione laughed. "Not that I could ever stop her if she put her mind to something. You should have seen her playing Quidditch."

Lana frowned. "Quidditch?"

"She was not as good as Harry, of course," Gabrielle added with a grin.

"What's Quidditch?" Lana asked.

Cho came to Lana's side and linked her arm through her sister's. "I'll tell you about it sometime." She grinned. "I'll tell you about the time I _almost_ beat Harry Potter."

Ron snorted. "Come on, Cho. It wasn't that close."

Harry chuckled. "Thanks for the support, mate. But to be perfectly fair, Cho was preoccupied by the dementors on the ground."

Lana gasped. "Those horrible things from the cornfield?"

With a wry look, Cho said, "They weren't real dementors. Just Draco Malfoy trying to torment Harry." Then she shrugged sheepishly. "But Ron's right. It wasn't that close."

Clark shook Harry's hand. "Thanks for the rescue," he said.

Harry smirked. "Doesn't happen very often, I bet," he said.

Shaking his head, Clark said, "No. And thanks for everything else."

"No problem." Harry paused, then added quietly, "Clark, I think you should know that we are going to have to tell some people about you. Not many, but the higher members of the Order need to know."

Clark did not look happy, but nodded. "I trust you to tell who you need to."

Harry turned to where Lex was talking with Bill. "Hey, what are you three doing the third weekend of October?" he asked.

Lex and Clark looked at each other and shrugged. "Nothing as of right now," Lex said. "Why?"

Grinning, Harry took Gabrielle's hand. "It just so happens that Gabrielle and I are getting married that weekend. We'd be honored if you came."

Lana nodded enthusiastically. "We'd love to come! Where is it?"

"At our old school back in Britain." Harry looked at Cho. "I'll owl you the invitations."

Cho nodded, but Lana looked confused. "Owl you?" she asked.

The witches and wizards laughed. "Little sister, you have a lot to learn!" Cho said.

Harry hugged Cho one last time. "We'll keep an eye on you," he said. "On all of Smallville. Promise that if those meteor rocks start affecting your magic, you'll send word right away."

She nodded. "I promise."

"Good." He looked at Bill, Ron, Hermione, and Gabrielle. "Ready?"

They each nodded. A chorus of goodbyes rang through the cornfields, followed by five loud pops. Lex, Lana, Clark, and Cho were left standing alone.

"I should probably get going," Clark said after a moment. "My dad needs help with the farm." He waved, then turned toward his family's house.

"I have to get back to the mansion," Lex said. "Lots of work to do." He smiled at Cho. "Come by sometime." He gestured to Clark and Lana. "These two practically live at my mansion anyway."

Cho laughed. "I'll do that."

"Good."

Lana and Cho were left alone. They stood in silence for a moment. "So," Lana finally said slowly. "What do I call you?"

Cho frowned. "What do you mean?"

Lana looked at the ground and asked, "Do you want to Liza? Or Cho?"

"Oh. That." Cho sighed. "Am I allowed to say I don't know?"

"Sure." Lana smiled. "I'm just glad you're here. But you'll have to give me time to get used to it if you choose Cho."

"Deal." Then Cho wrapped her arm around Lana's shoulders. "Come on. Let's go home."


	18. Epilogue

**AUTHOR'S NOTE** Couple of things. First, my beta pointed out that Cho probably wouldn't have Apparated from Salem all the way to London. When I wikipedia'd it, it said that she was right – most wizards don't Apparate that far away, but I've had them doing it all throughout the story, so I decided to leave it in.

Second, I know that Cho and Ginny really don't get along in canon. But seeing as how this is an AU, I figured it was okay to leave them in as friends. After all, neither of them end up with Harry in this story.

Finally, this is the end – thanks everyone for reading! I hope you've enjoyed it! And a special thanks to Lauren, my beta, who made sure I didn't make any glaring mistakes!

**DISCLAIMER** I don't own anyone, though I did make up the idea of Liza Lang.

Their very strange trip began in London. An older man with red hair who introduced himself as Arthur Weasley, Bill and Ron's father, met them and quickly whisked them into a small white car. Lana shrieked and Clark clutched her hand when the car suddenly turned invisible and lurched into the air. "Wizards have flying cars?" Lex cried.

"No, only me!" Arthur said proudly. "I enchanted it myself. It's my second!"

They landed not far outside the city next to a set of train tracks. "We couldn't get you on the train in London because you wouldn't have been able to get onto the platform," Arthur explained. "But the location of Hogwarts is secret. Muggles aren't allowed anywhere near it, so you have to take the train into the station."

Clark, Lex, and Lana merely nodded, unsure of what to say. A big scarlet train roared to a stop next to them then and Arthur bade them goodbye. "I'll see you at the ceremony," he called before the car disappeared again.

They weren't allowed a compartment with windows for their trip. The only other person they had seen was the conductor, but Clark had a sneaking suspicion that there were several other escorts on the train with them.

Sure enough, as the train began to slow down, two identical red-haired men opened the compartment door. "Hello there," one said.

"Uh, hi," Lana said.

"We're Fred," said the first.

"And George," added the second.

"Weasley," Fred finished.

"You met our older brother and youngest brother in Smallville," George said.

"Bill and Ron," said Fred.

"We'll be your tour guides for your short journey through the once-picturesque village of Hogsmeade and finally to Hogwarts castle," George finished. The twins grinned.

There was silence for a moment. Finally, Lex said, "Okay."

He, Clark, and Lana followed the twins off the train, where Cho met them. Clark frowned. "You're already here?" he asked. "I thought you had to talk to the Salem Institute people before you came here."

She laughed. "Perks of being a witch. Travel by Apparition is instantaneous."

Cho joined the group as they walked through the silent streets. Lana shivered. "It's like a ghost town," she said.

"It didn't used to be," Cho said. "It used to be one of the best places to spend the weekend."

"But?" asked Clark.

The twins looked at each other sadly, then back at Clark. "The war," they said together.

No one asked any more questions until they reached two black carriages waiting at the edge of a wide lake. Lana frowned and asked, "Where are the horses?"

"Those aren't horses," Clark said, a nervous edge in his voice. "Those are black scaly horse things."

George gaped at him. "You can see them?"

Lex frowned. "See what?"

"They're called thestrals," Cho explained uncomfortably. "Most people can't see them."

Again they lapsed into silence as Cho, Lex, and Lana climbed into one carriage and Clark and the twins boarded the other.

They barely had time to see the castle as Fred and George herded Clark and Lex up one set of stairs and Cho whisked Lana up another.

"Great Hall in an hour, boys!" Cho called. Then she turned to her sister. "The headmistress is letting Fred, George, and I use our old dormitories for you three to get ready in. But we only have an hour before we have to be downstairs!"

Lana giggled. "Well then we're wasting valuable time!" The two girls took off for Ravenclaw tower.

…

Clark, Lana, and Lex stared unabashed at the spectacular hall in which they found themselves. "Wow," Lana whispered.

Cho giggled. "I felt that way too, when I first came here. Welcome to the Great Hall."

"You actually went to school here?" Clark asked her, awed.

"Kind of makes Smallville High look pretty plain," Lana said to him.

He grinned and nodded. "You can say that again."

Suddenly Cho's eyes lit up as she saw Ginny Weasley rushing toward her. "Ginny!" she cried and the two women threw their arms around each other.

"Oh Cho, I'm so happy to see you!" Ginny said. She drew back and hesitated. "Cho?" she asked slowly. "Or Liza?"

Cho looked back at Lana, who smiled and nodded, and turned back to her friend. "Cho," she said simply.

Ginny smiled sadly. "I wanted to go with Harry to come find you. I'm so sorry, Cho."

Cho took Ginny's hands. "I never would have wanted you to abandon your mission." She smirked. "Besides, you just would have faced Dementors and Death Eaters and Bellatrix Lestrange. Same old." She snuck a glance at Clark, who was gazing at the Great Hall and didn't notice. "Almost."

Ginny followed her eyes, but asked no questions. Cho mouthed 'I'll tell you later,' and grinned. Ginny returned the smile and turned back to the three visitors. "Hi," she said, holding out her hand. "I'm Ginny Weasley."

"Merlin, I'm sorry!" Cho said, blushing. "I'm a terrible hostess. Ginny, this is Clark Kent, a friend of mine from Smallville."

"Nice to meet you," Clark said, shaking her hand. "Are you Ron and Bill's sister?"

She nodded. "Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, and finally me. Six boys, one girl."

Clark smirked. "Fun."

Cho smiled hesitantly at Lex. "And this is Lex Luthor."

"Her boyfriend," he clarified, also shaking Ginny's hand. "Hi."

"And of course, my little sister Lana."

Lana's jaw had dropped open the second Lex had said "boyfriend," but she recovered enough to look both indignant and exceedingly happy to be known as Cho's little sister. Ginny smiled. "There's a family resemblance, I think."

Lana grinned. "Thanks." The group followed Cho and Ginny as they walked down the center aisle toward their seats. "This place is amazing!" Lana said.

It truly was. Although Albus Dumbledore was gone, the bewitched ceiling looked just as spectacular as it ever had while he was Headmaster, complete with fluffy white clouds, a sparkling sun, and soaring doves. Rather than uncomfortable folding chairs, rows and rows of red and gold armchairs filled the massive hall. A magnificent curving arch was set up where the head table usually sat and a few people milled nervously about beneath it, including Harry and Ron, dressed in their finest dress robes. Clark and Lex shared a look, each feeling distinctly out of place in crisp tuxedos.

Cho was swarmed with witches and wizards welcoming her back home to England, Bill brought his brother Charlie over to introduce him to Clark and Lex. Once they and Ginny had engaged the two men in what appeared to be a fairly deep conversation, Lana pulled Cho aside. With a raised eyebrow, she repeated, "Boyfriend?"

Cho blushed and nodded. "I knew you were spending a lot of time at the mansion," Lana continued. "But I had no idea! What happened?"

Cho's blush deepened and she mumbled. "Right after Harry and the others left, I went to see him to make sure he was okay."

Lana's eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped again. "You had sex with Lex Luthor?" she whispered.

Cho's face now resembled the color of a good red wine. Finally, she nodded. Lana just shook her head in disbelief. Then shyly, she asked, "How was it?"

"Oh no!" Cho said. "I am not ready to talk about my love life with my baby sister!" She snuck a glance at Clark. "But if you ever need advice about anything, don't hesitate to ask." It was Lana's turn to blush.

Clark, Lex, Ginny, Bill, and Charlie chose that moment to join them. Cho had to stifle a grin as Clark slipped his arm around Lana's waist. Lana caught her sister's look and blushed again.

"So Bill," Lex said as he came up beside Cho. "When do we get to meet your lovely wife?"

"After the ceremony," Bill said. "She's in Gabrielle's wedding party." He smirked. "You have no idea how upset the Wizarding World was when they learned that Harry Potter's wedding would be small like this."

Clark did not think that the whole affair seemed that small, but before he could say anything, all the guests were asked to take their seats in preparation for the ceremony. He sat beside Lana, who was situated between him and Cho. She leaned over to him and said, "Isn't this place amazing?"

"Yeah, it's wonderful."

"I wonder what the rest of it's like," she continued. She pointed toward the said of the room. "Like, what's just behind that wall? We'll have to go exploring later. It's not like we have X-ray vision or anything."

He looked at her sharply. There was a mischievous smile playing on her lips. His heart skipped a beat. "Lana…"

But Lana simply grinned. "Don't worry Clark," she said, patting his hand. "Your secret's safe with me."

Then the music started and everyone turned to see Gabrielle coming down the aisle.


End file.
